Tragedy among the Peaches
I no longer understand the language of birds,
Rousted from deep slumber
by frantic squawks
I no longer understand the language of birds,
mishear panicked pleas for help
as territorial warnings,
grumble, close the window
and trundle back to bed.
Months later,
in search of two reluctant peaches—
dismal harvest—
we come face-to-face with mama, crucified
head down, feet tangled in branches.
Above her,
mummified fledglings, mouths open.
Tragic miscommunication.
Janis La Couvée (she/her) is a writer and poet with a love of wild green spaces, dedicated to conservation efforts in Campbell River, British Columbia—home since time immemorial to the Liǧʷiɫdax̌ʷ people. Her work is published or forthcoming by the League of Canadian Poets, Short Reads, Pure Slush, Harpy Hybrid Review, among others, and has been anthologized in New York Writers Coalition’s Common Unity and the 2023 New Feathers Anthology. Her poem The Man is Not was short-listed for the inaugural Van Isle Poetry Collective contest. Online at janislacouvee.com @lacouvee on X, Mastodon and BlueSky
