Martha Deed

Dead Bird

1

The feathers are long and thick and black
and ‒ well ‒ feathery
and the body is small for the length
of the feathers
a dead creature
or perhaps what we see
is only part of the story

2

the image is not always
worth a thousand words
possibly looks can deceive
will rule this day

3

how much truth
can you find
wearing pajamas
at noon

4

tuft of feather
half buried
five feet from the rest
conclusion:
hit in flight

5

no feet
no head
what eats
pig feet
boar's head
enjoys tiny remnants
on its plate

6

no

7

we have made
a tentative finding
of the bird's i.d.
and cause of death
and we
will release our findings
once next of kin
have been notified

8

Intelligence reports the predator
was given safe haven and even fed
in private trees

We are in delicate negotiations
regarding the felling of these trees
in order to protect our flying allies
we are keeping our options
open ‒ ground action remains
a possibility when our allies
choose to harbor terrorists
in their branches

9

we can tell you
this bird was not killed by a drone
this bird was not on our no fly list
this bird was killed by a bird
doing its thing
being a bird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martha Deed recently completed a mixed-genre book of poetry and primary documents to reconstruct her daughter, Millie Niss's death in a community hospital, The Last Collaboration (Furtherfield, 2012) and editing Millie's poetry collection, City Bird (Blazevox, 2010).  She has five previous chapbooks: The Lost Shoe, The November 2010 Project, and This is Visual Poetry all from Dan Waber's imprints, 65 x 65 (small chapbook project), and #9 (Furniture Press).  Her poems have been published in Shampoo, Moria, Edifice Wrecked, CLWN WR, Big Bridge, On Barcelona, and many others. Her website: www.sporkworld.org/Deed