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B is for Bird

My parents must have known
three hatchlings in the nest
blown from our maple tree
wouldn’t survive.

But they gave us an eye dropper and warm milk,
took grainy photos of the pink bodies,
and told us the eyes, still gray stones,
would open soon.

When they removed the bodies, one by one,
my sister couldn’t let go.
She drank grief from broken shells.
Blue veins spoke just beneath her skin
until they didn’t.

Somewhere between kingdom and family lies order.
A vault of tainted nests.
A spring orchard budding cold stars.
An alphabet ripped of images so children create
their own taxonomy of loss.


Diane LeBlanc is a writer, teacher, and book artist with roots in Vermont, Wyoming, and Minnesota. She is the author of The Feast Delayed (Terrapin Books, 2021) and four poetry chapbooks. Poems and essays appear in Bellevue Literary ReviewCimarron ReviewMid-American Review, and Southern Humanities Review, among others. Diane is a holistic life coach with emphasis in creativity practice. She is a professor and writer in residence at St. Olaf College.

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