What Gould’s Magpie Has Stolen

111 total words

<1 minutes of reading

For its feathers, the prism of light

that broke its blacks into iridescence.

Magpie (Pica caudata) by John Gould (1804-1881).

For its perch, a faded oak branch

that no one would notice, if not for the bird.

For its hunger, the sensation of being watched

so that those below may move without care.

Its silent illusion of safety is the reason

we do not see a fraction

of what we walk beneath.

Nell Smith
Nell Smith is a field biologist and writer currently based in Northern Arizona. Much of Nell’s work is ecologically rooted as she examines the interplay between people and place. Her poetry has most recently been published in Hawk & Whippoorwill, Vagabond City Lit, Sky Island Journal, and Entropy. She loves birds, saltwater, and the Sonoran desert during monsoon season. Learn more at nellsmithwriter.com