Corvidian
— for Brian Doyle, who made the word
Oh Lord, make me corvidian
Crow-like, ravenesque
Feathered (pterygial), flighted (alate)
Beaked, booted
Black as spilled ink
Free to rise and fall
Fluent in every laugh and cry
Take away these useless hands
And give me wings
Pepper Trail‘s work has previously appeared in Willawaw, as well as in Rattle, Ascent, Windfall, Atlanta Review, and other publications. He has published three poetry collections, Flight Time, Cascade-Siskiyou: Poems (a finalist for the 2016 Oregon Book Award), and An Empty Bowl. Pepper lives in Ashland, Oregon, where he works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.