Read Poem: Ghost Bird, by Tracy Brennan

The window in this kitchen
holds the perfect imprint
Of a songbird
Alula and primary coverts
in full active flight
A watermark
Of eye ring, crown and bill
Ghost bird in dorsal view
I would share the image
But how does one take a picture
Of glass?

My heart is made of hollow bones
Sketched by memories
The places I have loved

We are under the illusion we will
recognize the way back

These animals, these people
that honor us with their presence
These things we see that keep us grounded
These things we don’t
that take us out

Ghost bird.
All so very fragile

Tracy Brennan