Amphispiza bilineata

Black-throated sparrow
David Irvin

 

 

lines like the slithering silver edge

in them now

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

on a branch

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.