Erin Lynn Marsh
The drunken birds of Gilbert, MN have made it
into The New York Times. Berries fermented
due to an early spring are balloons of booze
robins and waxwings ingest. The unchecked birds
crash into windows and cars, leaving them stunned.
An expert suggests placing the drunkards in a box
located in a dark, quiet space where they can sleep
it off. I tell a friend about the birds and we laugh
at them unwittingly eating plump, candy-colored
spirits. When alone, I ask God to keep them safe—
then realize He has more important matters to worry
about. Now I know the winged inebriates are exactly
what God concerns himself with: their disorientation
and confusion as distressing as any human broken heart.
Erin Lynn Marsh is the author of the poetry collection Disability Isn’t Sexy (Jules’ Poetry Playhouse Publications, 2019). Her poems have appeared in Post Road Magazine, Sugar House Review, Paper Darts, Emrys Journal, and the anthology Hers: Poets Speak (while we still can), Vol. 2 (Beatlick Press and Jules’ Poetry Playhouse Publications, 2017), edited by Jules Nyquist. She lives and works in Bemidji, MN.
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