Gifts

I woke up this morning with a crow
lodged in the back of my throat.

I hacked and wheezed for an hour
trying to get it loose and out.

It finally flew away when a blood vessel
burst in the corner of my eye.

And now it returns every night to gently place
gifts of silver onto the back of my tongue.

And it sleeps behind my dark breathing
scratching raw the pink flesh where words form.

And every morning I wake early to force it loose
again from my dark dreams and raw breath.

***

Eric Machan Howd (Ithaca, NY) is a poet, musician, and educator. Their words have been seen in publications such as River City, Nimrod, Box-A Journal, Caesura, and Slant. They are currently working on an erasure project using the work of author H.P. Lovecraft. Their essay, "An Argument for a Non-Binary Approach to the Arts: the Continuum of Word and Song," was recently translated into Slovene and archived in the National Library of Slovenia.