Self Portrait as Everything that Rises
macaroon sparrow, rococo finch
the painted birds don’t fear
flame, they waft
on pillowy heat
peck the curling canvas
with their sugar beaks
and cock their heads
at futurity
outside the frame the gold
coffered ceiling
the real birds
the pelican and his
ominous wingspan
the vulture’s
ugly dignity
officious hummingbird darning needle head
circle and weave
and in their arrangement
draw the eye upwards
to the center
where we all raise crowns raise sweet bay
leaves to crown our own victory
as if suggesting
a greater hand
a composition to the clouds’ progress
across a sky dotted with billboards
as if to suggest
the birds are the birds regardless
Floating Wolf
