THE BIRDS WE PILED LOOSELY • ISSUE 10 • JANUARY 2017

YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A BIRD IN IT
by David Eingorn
You had better have a bird in it
like a red-tailed blackbird or
house finch pecking
at crumbs on the sidewalk;
a spare sparrow or
a big, yellow pretend bird like Big Bird or
an orange-breasted robin
protecting its nest outside
my front door, or
a snowy owl
in winter.
Because birds do not commit suicide.
Because birds can help.
after Jack Spicer’s “A Poem Without a Single Bird In It”
WHEN A CROW ASKS FOR A JOB,
YOU GIVE IT TO HIM
by Amy Deakin
Crow wants a job.
It is given to him.
He didn’t have to take it, like everything else.
Worm it out of the ground like a difficult insect.
Crow is successful at work, because
As crow flies
Crow cuts travel time and saves money.
Crow creates a nest of money.
Crow sells shares
in his nest of money and makes it back several times over.
Crow has the knack of the stock market.
But like a worm
Crow finds that money
Won’t stay still. You need to
Chase it round continents
Bludgeon it. Peck it the nuts.
If it doesn’t exist
You must imagine it does.
All is going well for crow.
Only one day it doesn’t.
Because one day crow is
throwing up money,
haemorrhaging money.
Due to loss of money
Crow needs to be
Injected with more money,
wrapped in a bank note
and nursed back to health.
Crow is becoming a liability.
He must prove his worth
by generating money
with his foot, his beady eye.
Crow is learning to fly
Learning to fly increases productivity
By 10%. Crow give us back your wing
And give us back our 10%
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