Author Archives: Emily Burr

by Emily Burr A family of chicks lives in the garage,Peeping and jostling their cottonball bodies against each otherThey are confined to the wood and wire structure lovingly assembled by my roommateWhich is confined within city limitsWhich is illegalWhich means the family of chicks living in the garage is already hard at workProving that simplyContinue reading “Contraband”

by Cela Loud crowing competes with horns heralding terrible driving / empty skillet in the kitchen, again I plea for hens / Guido’s white plumage once ruled the yard, now barren, barely more than a grassy courtyard / Ma killed more than radios when Pa died / the only music now is the static ofContinue reading “Am I the Flashy Bird?”

by imarkanx Unleashed to strut about,Tail feathers, wattle, and comb,Free-ranged,Unchained,Deranged—Cockerel of the run,Crowing proudly at the sun. Snickering fills the coop.All the hens know the truth.Gelded rooster, you and IShare this designation:Prized and emasculated,Mostly there—but in the end,Just a dumb mannequin.No better than plastic,Like Barbie’s dear Ken,Not a real rooster at all. Author’s Note:This poemContinue reading “Prize Capon”

by mk zariel You don’t know what’s more of a pain—your gender, or the chicken you’re currently attempting to handle. The way she runs across the lawn at the childrens’ museum, evading your grasp, flapping her wings without purpose, having a minor freakout. The way you told a toddler, attempting to be funny, that chickensContinue reading “self-educate”

by Sabrina Green There is one hen in four-hundred who committed to a full moltingMolding, mouldingShedding and pulling worn-out, sunBleached feathers, like chopping weathered locks It is a perilous endeavor to do so,With a flock it is en masse.Hens do not like new, or different, or bright- my glasses and invitationFor pecks and investigation.Against theContinue reading “Molt”

by Ashley Pennock I left for college heartbroken. I took my heart intwo piecesand shredded intofries.My parents went back to the home I left behind, and I wandered into the basement alone. I foundchickendown there, and decided maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here. Ibatteredmy chest inbreadcrumbs, andfriedit whole again. When I dread leaving homeContinue reading “On chicken and graduation”

by Shannon McEntee My parents got chickens about two years ago. It was unexpected– my family is big on talking shop about all the great things they’ll do, everything on their platter. But they rarely get anything done. They overwhelm themselves with possibility, I think, and then the opportunity is gone. It’s a loop weContinue reading “Chigguns in the Yard”

by Ian William Walker On a humid day in May, my mom brought home pre-made fried chicken from the local grocery store. Obviously, I was ecstatic. It was greasy, salty, and delicious. All the buzzwords a child loved to hear when it came to food. The messiness of the chicken was about to wipe awayContinue reading “Fried Chicken Haibun”

by Chris Wardle How else but inverted,could this trusting Soulbe brought from the topsy-turvyof Pokhara’s bazaar? The soft gloom of her down,now up,mirroring the dark deedsoon to be executed. With calm reassurance she is welcomedto this quiet corner of the food forest,and thanked,ahead of prayer. Bismillah … Two hearts suspended,the blade of separationmust come asContinue reading “Solitary Shade”