Amber Nelson

from Birds of the World Unite

Humboldt Penguin Meets Brown Pelican

in the open

air—noses

into breath

swim mighty

& light—away

into the dark

Blyth’s Tragopan

a bright beacon

oranges of

loss or rather

of losing

Keel-Billed Toucan

yellow light

sharpened

against the branches

Amber Nelson is the co-founder and poetry editor of the online journal and chapbook press alice blue review and alice blue books. Her first full-length book, In Anima: Urgency is forthcoming from Coconut Books (2013).