As the Sunset Shifts from a Cool White to Umber Orange, Birds are Dying

By Keith Hoerner

No wind flows
Through wingspan

No lift 
Force

No air-
Foil

Aves find 
Themselves 

As thrown 
Stones 

Beaks raking
Earth like plows

To sow dying swan 
Songs

*Golden
Seeds*

*Feathered 
Prayers*

*Sacred
Supplication*

To germinate and
Grow

And even perhaps—
Soar again

Keith Hoerner lives, teaches, and pushes words around in Southern Illinois. His recently published memoir, The Day the Sky Broke Open, can be found on Amazon