Birds 2

by JJ Williamson
Babilu
Third Place, November 2018
Judged by Jeanette Beebe


When the robin’s
brazen chitter
squanders
early evening’s
promise

the golden billed
songsters
never
forget to trill
about love

Fuck the singing
cawed the crow


Voice, voice, voice. At the end of this poem, I laughed out loud — and sometimes, that's exactly what a poem should do. The "never / forget to trill" is subtle and complex. The line breaks help the rhythm flow so the final couplet ends with a bang. It just works. It lands well. --Jeanette Beebe