fledgling flown—or fallen from
hailstoned, the birdhouse
shaped like a church
sparrows nested twine
in twists sweetgrass
bladed: wind sheared
rapture past thunder
stormed the backyard
detonating dandelions, nettles
bereft of head: needled
heart violet
star gone gray
John Fry is the author of With the Dogstar as My Witness (Orison Books, 2018). His poems have appeared in West Branch, Colorado Review, Blackbird, Waxwing, Tupelo Quarterly, and Third Coast. A medievalist at UT-Austin and a poetry editor for Newfound Journal, he lives in the Texas Hill Country.