Birds in Snow
by Tony Gentry
Birds in snow don’t flit they dart
missiles fueled by feathered hearts
aimed at shelter suet or seed
never falter in their need
to go and get and seek and weather.
You do it too in fleece and leather.
Though we pretend to art and awe
logic wonder prayer and law
we emulate our feathered friends
in how we mark the time we spend.
When wintry wind
and snow descend
what it takes to get ‘er done
is all that matters to anyone.
Tony Gentry has published poems in The Quarterly, Minetta Review, Richmond Magazine, Mad Swirl and Downtown. His poems have won awards in James River Writers and Virginia Poetry Society 2018 competitions. He is the author of a novel The Coal Tower and five young adult biographies. He has also published a pair of short stories in Turnstile and another in Northern Virginia Review. When he’s not writing, Gentry works as an occupational therapy professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
