will reger

Song for the Calico, Hunting Birds in my Dooryard

We know what it is to be thrown away
by jaded owners, by narcissist fathers—

when our very bodies are called “nuisance”
and “threat,” and we gulp at true meaning

with every snap of the jaws on Hope.
I saw you catch that stunned bird

that struck my window and lay
in the flower bed unmoving. Your moves

were precise and smooth—you obeyed
the thief’s protocol: get in, get out, quickly.

I did not obey like you: I came here
and stayed put, not understanding my plight,

but I did see how the trees bore down on us;
and seeing you take off, bird in mouth,

I learned to move through the shadows
and catch the light where it shone through to me.

And now I wonder, of all the lives I can fit
in my life, why not yours as well?

Will Reger has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He has published four collections of poetry available through Amazon. He has served as the inaugural poet laureate for the city of Urbana, Illinois 2019-2020. For the last decade he has been active in promoting poetry in his community.