Sparrow Banding - Gregory Aird

Of course I noticed the intricate markings
painted onto its plumage and the artistic 
strokes of ochre and white nestled 
between streaks of black,

like the gaps separating exposed book spines
on a shelf. But when I reached out to touch
the nervous, feathered mass ensnared
in the vice grip of an index and middle finger,

I felt through its paper skin and hollow bones
the rapid pulse of a pump sending out
a voiceless SOS message, repeating incessantly.
And I couldn’t hear you calling out to smile for a picture.

I was lost in the black orb of it’s eye, a one-way mirror
reflecting the world of us demigods, hiding behind it
a space where all I could hear 
was silence

the kind that falls
when a bird sits on a nest hidden in the undergrowth,
wondering why her mate is so late to return. 

"Sparrow Banding" and "Shine" were originally published in the 2014 print issue of R2.