If My Soul is a Bird
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

If my soul is a bird
mine is a carrion crow
looking for shiny things,
cracking clams open on the rocks,
and harassing foxes for their kill.

When the Simurgh said:
“Engulf yourself in me that you may
find yourself in me.” I would laugh,
and drop a walnut into traffic
for the cars to do the heavy work
so I could pick out the soft,
scattered bits when the light
turned red.

What is there to discern? Everything
is transitional, and the day is sketched
with a light hand. Nevertheless, sometimes
I tremble with admiration at the dew
disappearing itself into the sky,
and how the night devours the day
in the dark mouth of its wings.