“January 10, 8:47 AM”

 January 10, 8:47 AM

 Outside my window
 the crows seem cast in lead,
 black bodies fused to bare branches,
 the mass of them weighting
 down the treetops.

 I open the sash
 and they explode 
 into the unsuspecting air
 sharp and light as shrapnel.

 © Stephanie Malley

 Published in the 2016 issue of Penumbra.

Peace to your !