#1

OK so for my free entry this week I'm posting my sestina since I'm pretty proud of it but unfortunately won't be able to receive workshop comments on it. So feel free to make suggestions if you want!

Sestina for the Birds

I stood, watching the fire
and noticing how quickly the birds
rose from their watery chairs,
the tips of their wings barely brushing
the water's surface. They left only the imprint
of their stout bodies as they performed the fire drill.

It's amazing how well they know the drill.
All their lives they wait for the fire,
and when the flames finally reach high enough to print
their dancing shadows on the birds'
domain, they fly over the brush
and search for a more solid chair.

As the leader of the flock reaches his plush, leafy chair,
the others begin to squawk, and drill
him with questions: Will the brush
ever return? Or will the fire
ruin it forever? The crescendo of the birds'
chorus would take novels to transcribe and print.

The leader steps forward, creating talon prints
one by one as he leaves his judge's chair.
He moves among the flock, among his fellow birds,
explaining the point and purpose of the drill
itself, the reason it is necessary to be conscious of the fire.
He caws that in order to live hear the brush,

one must be aware of the dangers that surround the brush.
One must know of the strange boot prints
left behind after gunshots. One must know of the fire,
of course, and of the way the watery chairs
seem to rock to and fro with the most conviction just before the drill
begins. And oddly enough, one must especially be aware of the other birds.

One must know of the tall, featherless, flightless birds.
These, the leader explains, hide in the brush
and wait for us to begin our drill.
Into us they blow the bullet print,
sending us careening before we reach our chairs.
They delight in the dancing of the fire.

I stared at the fire, trying to tell the birds
that they were safe in their watery chairs, and to brush
off the suggestions of the printed directions to stay safe through the drill.