- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
Dad, the Perch
Sheila’s tiny talons / at Dad’s shoulder scratching / caress of a loved one / she wipes her face / on Dad’s collarbone / cuddles his ear / searches out flaky bits / of dandruff / grabs them lengthwise / in her beak / joins Dad / in the shower / curtain rod-perch / water babbling / quick hop / to ersatz rain / familiar shoulder / Dad keeps birds / Florida Guy / Sheila is a cheap / cockatiel / unlike parrots / not to be bred / lemon and feather / hollow bones / and wordless acquiescence / make Dad tender / on the porch / Sheila clings / to his shirt / Dad rests / his hand / on her back / like a bow tie / absent-minded / not even yelling / when Sheila squats quick and shits / down his front / Dad just coos / and walks to the sink / Sheila / favorited daughter / whose wings / are not to be clipped / shock of plumage standing / electric / at her crown / sits like a puny boss / while Dad mows / the lawn / brains / to his hulking hairy body / maybe I’m making too much / Dad loved us too / but it was / her name / he called / into the dusk / her face / he searched for / in the trees / after she flew
JESSIE WINGATE is a florist by day, poet by night, and round-the-clock mom living on unceded Ohlone land in California. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Cimarron Review, F(r)iction, CALYX, Allium, Chestnut Review, Kestrel, Mother Mag, California Quarterly, The Berkeley Poetry Review, and others.