With rich and captivating imagery, Mary Willis invites readers deep into the heart of her poems. We were delighted to publish her evocative piece ‘Snowshoeing’ in Pulp Literature Issue 22, Spring 2019.
Mary has kindly gifted us with another of her beautiful pieces, and we are thrilled to share it with you here.
Passenger Pigeons
Who could have expected them to stay
with a goodbye name like that?
They were always recognized as a travelling act
and around the Great Lakes they didn’t breed,
just nested for short sweet northern summers—
a fact duly advertised
until professional hunters flocked heavily here too
and others showed up to witness
the freewheeling company’s finale
that like a skilled sunset’s exit
was mounted in record time,
in quintessential shades also,
soaring scarlets and blacks—a third
of a continent’s birds vanished offstage,
announcing their departure with deafening sound effects.
When people began to tell stories,
search for true-to-life metaphors,
a few survivors let themselves be seen.
The last female they dubbed Martha,
who in the Cincinnati zoo
settled to domesticity like her biblical antecedent
but both her mates died
as she did without descendants in 1914—
the year our first world war ignited
with its own panoramic flights,
flagged colours, and mechanized noise.
By many accounts mourning doves
bear a striking resemblance to passenger pigeons,
though they are softer-shaded and lower-voiced,
conducting their business of lamentation
close to the ground.
To read ‘Snowshoeing’, pick up your copy of Issue 22, Spring 2019 here!
Mary Willis lives in London, Ontario. Her poems have appeared in such journals and magazines as Canadian Literature, The Fiddlehead, Poems for Ephesians, Ekstasis Magazine, and Faith Today. She has published three chapbooks, and her work has been included in anthologies, most recently in In a Strange Land (Cascade Books, 2019). She has also recently completed a fantasy novel.
Leave a Reply