The Ingenuity of Animal Survival

Deep in the enzyme is the shape of home.

Deep in the code is the architecture to nest.

The Robin collects mud with its beak along with twigs and
pieces of down and feathers too.

The Grouse burrows into a subnivean world for heat and
shelter.

The Raven uses branches and breaks them off with its weight
and its beak, it papers its nest with bits of fur and debris.

The Goose sheds her chest feathers to line the chamber.

Sorrow is long.

When will I return to my country?

“The Ingenuity of Animal Survival” from Now It’s Dark © 2020 by Peter Gizzi. Published by Wesleyan University Press. Used with permission.