Amphispiza bilineata
Black-throated sparrow
David Irvin
lines like the slithering silver edge
looking through them
discovering ourselves
because of them
how it cut this forehead
drinking its frailty
smoking its throat
because of them
on a thin branch to think
there’s a way to cut it off
right there
beyond the aphid eater
to slice
to live
to hope
for a new bird
The black-throated sparrow
The black lung
The black path
The black wind
The black patch
small
bobbing
~~~~~
David Irvin is a librarian in New Mexico. He lives in the Chihuahuan Desert with his wife, daughters, and dogs, including Leonard Marshmallow, named for the late L. Cohen.