it landed with legs
spreading toes
on the pavement
and it’s seldom
that anyone
sees just the one
magpie. I enjoyed it.
the flashing tuxedo
and shirt-tails. the tail
flipping down. jerky,
like a watch
counting seconds—
all mechanical.
I stopped to look at it
and it looked at me. on the ground
they go in moments—head down,
pause, head up. body moving
in balance like a see-saw.
it flew,
and it flew away beautifully.
has been described by one editor as “a cosmopolitan poet” and another as “prolific, bordering on incontinent.” His work has nominated twelve times for Best of the Net, eight for the Pushcart Prize, and once for the Forward Prize, and has been released in three collections: Love is Breaking Plates in the Garden (Encircle Press, 2016), Sad Havoc Among the Birds (Turas Press, 2019), and Noble Rot (Turas Press, 2022).
