Transmission | Patricia Killelea

for Chandra Womack

I drag tule reed through an ink

drawn from Suisun blackberries

across the belly of a tundra swan—

It’s a message for you,

you stirring there

beneath the long light

of an even longer sun

far far north;

And when the swans return

to arctic grounds,

you read into the juice

still soaked in white plumage—

I have lain the crimson word.

"Transmission" can be found in Counterglow (Urban Farmhouse Press 2019). Read Lammergeier's interview with author Patricia Killelea here.