“You’re all just crows on the powerline” in Neologism #45

March 1, 2021

The poem is still available on the magazine’s website.

Neologism is one of the first magazines I ever submitted to. & though my first try wasn’t a good fit, editor Christopher Fields gave me some amazing feedback that helped me edit the poem (which was then snapped up by Moonchild Magazine). As someone very new to submitting my work at the time, Christopher’s help was immeasurable. & so I kept reading & when I had something else that I thought fit the magazine’s vibe I sent it over. I cannot recommend the publication or the editor enough.

The poem title is a line from “I didn’t say I was powerful I said I was a wizard” by Chiodos.

“You’re all just crows on the powerline”

Nobody here but us crows, wire riding
ornaments of feather & scream, flutter
folded into the snow & the crowd, into
the scrape of boots over icy sidewalks;
& these streets would be paved with
our bones, if this damn world had
the sense to turn symbol to structure;
we’ve got no better way to be, beautiful
as an oil slick in the sun & as maddening
to wash clean; shed our feathers like ash,
to briefly dust the shoulders of lovers, to be
brushed away, to be acknowledged once
& forgotten. Nobody here but us, shrieking
the sun down so we can blend in with the sky.