Oz by Lindsay Clark

i. 
I bowed to the crows
when I realized your presence 
turned my eyes to tongues.
Mind led where body
resisted. But how could I 
scare something so rare?

ii. 
Alone with you, time 
held a match to my belly 
and rusted my spine.
Time was a deep sea 
oil spill when I had you 
I hemorrhaged you. 

iii. 
A lone sisserou
choosing my shoulder would coo
as it pleased while I’d 
cower, memorize
its weight; wait for the talon 
in the collarbone.

iv.
You flew off before
the gentle bleach of habit
falling like first snow. 
But weren’t there others 
in need of technicolor
and a way back home?


Lindsay Clark is a resident physician living in California with her family.