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Unreported Migration
Mary Mercier

—Flight belongs to those with nothing to carry.

Autumn’s administration of the sky
requires no election. No ballot box
of any kind. No whiskey on the rocks
to face the tally. Only clouds go by
and that without decision. Birds comply
with gravity. One elegant wing unlocks
the sky’s door. Through it entire flocks
will soar. No longer do I question why
but I do consider when. Mountains burn.
A choir sings in the dark. Nothing can stem
the rising flood of night yet birds discern
a way—following star, horizon’s hem,
they leave no contrail but a brief nocturne.
One day not yet written I’ll leave with them.

—
A native of the Midwest, Mary Mercier finds inspiration in the deep and wild pockets of nature. Her poems have appeared in The Comstock Review, Analog Sea Review, and Stoneboat, and her chapbook Small Acts was published by Parallel Press.

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Have you read these poems:
Ugly Desert by Brooke Taylor
Kissing in the Afternoon by Elaine Handley

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