Martin Willitts Jr’s most recent poem to appear here was Opossum (February 2014).

The Birds Have Told Me You Have Singed Wings
By Martin Willitts Jr

Who has taken and strangled the spirit within you?
There are birds singing praises,
and you are in a dark room writing spools
of death into your wrists.

Voices only you can hear
shout in the silence, each cut tries to silence.
Who has ruptured your spirit into trembling violence?
Do not listen to those inner voices;
the darkness is not for you.
Open curtains inside your heart.
Let dark geese depart.
No one can take your spirit. No amount of voices.

Outside, birds are flocking to see your choice.