There's no time to think
about the feathered creature I'll become.
Time is an unsavored
mouthful. It's time who chews you up.
Yesterday I lost a bunch of feathers and
some teeth.
Tomorrow I'll be plucked.
If I were able
I'd yank off my own fading feathers.
Only then would I be following
the exemplary path of the eagle.
Grade levels
7-9 / Sec. 1-3
10-12 / Sec. 4 & 5 / CEGEP 1
Common Poetic Terms and Forms
Contest Criteria
Bibliographical info
Elvira Hernández, "Ornithology," from Bodies Found in Various Places: The Selected Poems of Elvira Hernández. English translation by Daniel Borzutzky and Alec Schumacher. Cardboard House Press, 2025. Griffin Poetry Prize 2026 Finalist. Used with permission from The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry.