What Rough Beast | Covid-19 Edition | 06 08 20 | Richard Morrison

Richard Morrison
White Pelican Release

Illness is the cage
	Opening, the release
		A white pelican emerges
			Extending
				Its neck, its golden
			Bill to the longed-for sky
Hazel eyes dare us to bear witness
	Preening its feathers
Stretching
	Black-fringed wings
The sweet
			Deliberate steps
				To the water’s edge
			Like a pause between
		Each breath
	Catching in the chest

Is this like death? 

	A sudden
		Beating, a flurry
			Flapping then lifting
		Victory lap above our heads, over
	And around the sullen lake
Straight into a blind horizon

Beautiful
	Magnificent bird
How does it feel to leave this earth?

—Submitted on 04/16/2020

Richard Morrison’s poems have appeared  in Provincetown Arts and Christopher Street, among other publications. He holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University (1991) and currently serves as editorial director for Fordham University Press.

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