Grackles

By Kelsie Stark

Grackles in the overhanging Ash
speak their minds 
with their rattled screams,
boat tails and black feathers
filling in the spaces
between branches.

I watch and wonder
with gentle curiosity
why they are so mad –
I’m sure they see me and
think the same.

The difference is
they can scream in tonal aggression
that falls softly to the ground
and here I am,
silent and unable
to raise my voice high
like the Ash –
wishing I could be 
a black bird, a shadow
in the emptiness of the day.

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Kelsie Stark (she/her) is a disabled veteran, poet, and author based in El Paso, Texas. She is the author of three poetry collections: You, Unspoken, and I Will Be Free. As a young writer, she received multiple Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Beyond poetry, Kelsie is a published photographer who occasionally pairs her photography with her writing. She finds continual inspiration through bird watching. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her cats.