July 4, 2023
Red-Winged Blackbirds
Barks and cries ring,
rising as we glide
in clear-skied glades,
ebbing as we land in reeds…
Being branded a glib gander,
a sleek-black, red-banded drake,
belies a wild lea’s dangers:
We learn being
gland-laden and wile-winged
in a swale is an ideal
grace, garnering a range
we can reign—
dense weeds and sand-crags
we can claw in—
as we bleed naked
need, and seek answers
silken-barbed, sable girls bare
in a briar’s silence
beside a wide, green-edged lake.
We are wise.
Wielding sinew, we slake
desire and breed. Sire and raise babes.
Dredge grain. Glean glee. Care.
Abide… Sing…
​
___
NOTE:“Red-Winged Blackbirds” is an 'In-Titled Poem', the author’s invented poetry form, composed exclusively of the letters appearing in its title, with no letter occurring within any individual word in the poem more times than it does in its title
by Stephanie L. Harper
Stephanie L. Harper grew up in Northern California, earned a BA in English and German from Grinnell College in Iowa, an MA in German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MFA from Butler University in Indianapolis. She is the proud mom of two extraordinary humans whom she raised to adulthood in Oregon, and she now lives in Indiana with the world’s most adorable husband and cat. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Red Wheelbarrow, Vox Populi, The Night Heron Barks, The Dodge, Laurel Review, Crab Creek Review, Taos Journal of Poetry, and elsewhere.