guest spot: learning from crows

crow photo by Lilija Valis

My guest today is friend and long-time mentor / collaborator, Lilija Valis, who has kindly allowed me to share one of her many poems. Bio below. Enjoy.  


Barbed Wire

No nest materials for birds
in the drought stricken Dust Bowl --
fertile soil and plants ripped off
by dust storms -- desperation ruled
but crows have hard-times survival
embedded in their cells – they stole
wire and barbed wire from farmers,
carefully twisted them into homes
to protect their young.
A Texas photo from the 1930s
pays tribute to the barbed wire nest.

Home is where you can close
your dust-filled eyes to rest.
I’m learning from crows how
to use the barbed wire in my life
to build a nest during storms
that strip me of hope.

first published in The Field Guide Poetry Magazine, March 2021

barbed wire crow’s nest, Texas, 1930s

Lilija Valis: author of Freedom on the Fault Line, gift of farms and cities, war and beautiful gardens, hospitals and universities, mateship and city riots, accompanied by poetry, stories, music and dance. Currently working on whatever Life sends her.