Jenni Nixon
there are openings in our lives of which we know nothing
Jane Hirshfield The Envoy
flightless stunted wings no tail feathers ‘runner’ born with highly contagious beak and feather disease baby rainbow lorikeet carried to my flat from garden soft blue head red eyes her calm appraisal already at home in the time of covid we all are in cages many die aged folk in nursing homes carried forth in body bags lucy feeds formula to her friends mirror bell toy bobs on perch hangs upside down whistles cage to rooms my replies echo from bedroom taught her ‘sexist’ whistle like a labourer at ‘piece of skirt’ walking by climbs walls of her cage swinging sometimes falls bathes in small plastic bowl shaped blue cat face intense red yellow chest purple blue belly shades of green small single yellow tail feather through worst of covid two years and more we spend time together companions cheerful soul began to hide head to droop green diarrhoea bacterial infection took little bobbing happy girl away painting now long swooping green wings tail feathers that touch the stars in glorious flight she’s ascending gold dust in her wake
jenni nixon is a sydney writer/performance poet with readings at diverse venues. swimming underground published by ginninderra press (2015) cordite, southerly, rochford street press, i protest and milestones ginninderra press, musings during a time of pandemic anthologies / kenya. not very quiet anthology meuse press #for ukraine by women of the world. jenni believes writing and painting gives space for her to find herself and not be limited or shamed by the opinions of others. she has a new book of poetry on the horizon with ginninderra press called passages.
Old Water Rat Publishing 