Pigeon Poem

by DIMITRI REYES

I want to be the pigeon that takes flight with other pigeons.
So beautiful not because I’m one of them, but because
I’d only be tear-filled gorgeous when witnessed.

Trust me: Google “flock of birds.” Seagulls, wrens, crows.
Never pigeons. I am pigeon among geese. Where they’re
always comparing their shit to mine. I’m not the darker

brother but browner. I look like a milk dud to others
in the sky. I want to feel the adrenaline rush from grazing
on a dropped restaurant platter in between right turns

and stoplights because I already fight for my keep. I want
to be a pigeon so I can follow my loved ones home.
To make sure they’re safe. I want to be a pigeon

because it’s harder for them to be seen. It’s already harder
for me to be seen but at least I could fly. If I was a pigeon
I’d be less confused. I’d always know where’s North

and there’d be nowhere to go but up. Pigeons could gather
in small crowds and won’t catch heat. I want to be a pigeon,
unabashed and nude. Always one with air and dirt. Not

afraid of the inevitability of death. Where a window, a cat,
a milk dud too big to swallow is just the way it goes.
Ashes to accidents, dust to pigeons.