“Red-Winged Blackbird” by Raegen Montaque
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Red-Winged Blackbird” by Raegen Montaque.
Red-Winged Blackbird
By Raegen Montaque
These creatures of obsidian
are visible only from the flames
that coat their epaulettes.
They border power lines like branches
of the ghost, that was
once a forest. But now I dwell,
in land gouged and
hardened with cement, metal,
and dead groves.
Here, the birds embody flies.
Parallel to my tracks, they court me
beaks angled acutely onto my path.
I pollute the line with my brilliant horn,
hoping the blare will scare them to flee.
“We will never perform a duet,
I will always bellow on this stage.”
They do not fly away, but
spot the scene
like spreading mold spores.
They’re often concealed,
needing to be eradicated.
This land has succumbed
to my steel:
when I pass, trees buckle
trunks twist and warp,
scorning from the rails
as if they began to flee—
Remnants of what used to live,
bare branches that survived my birth.
Ancient sprigs of the past.
Oh red-winged blackbird,
your trills sound of cicadas
I wonder if you’ll see the end of summer.
As I scorch earth, it cries out
no one seems to hear.
Small bird,
you cannot overcome.
I crave the day you cease
this courtship,
I long for your silence.
A union will not fix
what was destroyed.
You will be consumed,
your nests shaken from the sky
and trampled—
Until you become a blackbird.
Until you extinguish.
Copyright © Raegen Montaque
Previously published as part of the Pickering Public Library Writing Contest, 2023.
Raegen Montaque is a Black poet, writer, and visual artist. They’re an editor for Arrival Magazine and have edited for HLR Spotlight. Raegen’s poetry has been published in Humber Literary Review and PPL’s Writers’ Anthology ’23, their poem “Red-winged Blackbird” placed in the PPL 2023 writing contest. Their artwork is featured in Black Fruit Press’s 2024 Anthology, The Goblin Markets.
Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!