~ Delta Poetry Review ~

JL Pracki

Nesting

Starlings find gaps in the eaves for this time.

They quibble over their right to residence. 

Then take flights to and fro to stuff them full.

Limber twigs and torn paper, fabric strips—

gleaned from lawns, street gutters, wind-blown corners—

the intricate work of continuation.

And here, these words, gathered and intertwined, 

lined and woven together to make a cradle,

a soft sanctum from which hope can hatch,

fledge, and fly, carrying us upon its wings. 

Now, just here, just ahead of this very word, 

I find us naked in our dreams and take pen

in hand as scribe to what visits us

unguarded in our sleep. Writing it down,

some record, if only for an instant—

that could be what God should be, that could bring 

the water down to quench this constant thirst.

And here, a flight of characters gathering 

as syllables to make some sense of all this, 

to tell how the shell will finally break 

to reveal what will fledge and fly the nest 

of our hearts, woven of blood and spirit, 

that safe and hidden place where we wait

for our next moment to arrive, just as this 

word waits for the next word to be said.

JL Pracki is an international school English teacher, online editor, and poet. He has lived and worked in over a dozen countries rich in culture, history, and artistry, including Syria, Venezuela, Japan, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. He has learned that no matter who and where people are, they all want essentially the same things. You all know what those are. His poems have recently appeared in South Florida Poetry Journal, The RavensPerch, and The Midwest Quarterly. He lives in the South.