Last Supper in Baltimore
An impressive murder of crows
does not make
national headlines
nor does the murder of young Tai
Black, trans, beautiful
in an alley just down Lafayette
above a brick church locked during
the day neighbor ravens
decry the slaying
perched on rusty lampposts
calmly blanketing
in excrement vehicles
of good people praying inside
Who will emerge from the sermon
to wash the feet of trees
that shelter ravens?
their sinewy tendons
weave into uneven concrete
like floating tendrils of
the dead nurse’s locks
she wanted heal the sick
but the dead do not rise
only the dirty sidewalk
and discerning corvids at dawn
Brigittine French is a writer and teacher who divides her time between Baltimore and Iowa City. She is author of three books (UArizona Press 2010; Routledge 2018; Rutgers U Press 2020) and her work has appeared in Welter, Ms.com, Salon.com, and Lyrical Iowa.
Featured image in this post is, “Crow with Our Lady of the sacred Heart Church, Randwick, Sydney” by Sardaka, licensed via creative commons 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
