A small ruby-throated gift

In a Cold War spring (1960) Soviets captured an American spy plane pilot. His surname was . . . Powers. “… And kingdoms rise / And kingdoms fall / But you go on / And on” — U2 (October, 1981)

Three stanzas of 17 sounds by Jonatha Chance: “A roof occupied / by dark feathers, beaks, talons / all eyes on the field // In the hallway: squeak / a small ruby-throated gift / from a predator // Gliding high above / an old song from Irish lads / chirping at the world” | Copyright © 2024 CC-BY-NC-ND (4.0 International)

Image conjured by Christine Newton Bush with Substack generative AI | Copyright © 2024 CC-BY-NC-ND (4.0 International)