Yesterday
a scrub jay
cocked its head
flared tail feathers
on the fence post.
Hello punk, I said.
I’m wondering if I’ll look back
on this tilted head as the moment I tipped
from seeing ravens, vultures, gulls
ice plant, scotch broom, rats
as the drivers-out of fragile
elaborate life
to seeing them
as nodes from which the new elaborations
will unfurl.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leslie Beach inhabits and explores Northern California, where she’s worked as an outdoor educator, greenhouse grunt, organic gardener, bookseller, and graduate teaching associate in English and Creative Writing. She has her M.A. and pursues her M.F.A. at San Francisco State University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Natural Bridge, Neutrons/Protons, Blue Moon, and quarterlife.