A Poem by Elaina Frulla

Blemish on a Blue Jay's Face; or, the Judgmental Corvid

               I.
Charming black spot,
singular and centered
like one dried drip
on a blank
feather canvas.

It's a third eye
charming from below
the glassy black marble
you call a real eye.

Radiating dot,
permeating dot
pulses through my eyes
when I lean in.

               II.
Judgmental blue Corvid
monitors me
through glassy black marbles.
Head cocked,
crest raised,
he releases a scold
that burns
and leaves
me
sweating
despite the nature dust
drifting.
It accumulates on my shoulders
and in my hair,
but dissolves
where I've been charred.

"I see you," he says,
"sitting around again."

Elaina Frulla teaches literature and composition at Siena College in upstate New York.  An avid bird enthusiast, Elaina values the way in which bird watching has influenced her artistic endeavors.