Scarlet Tanager Poem by Lisa Russ Spaar

Bated ruby, guru occult,
you show yourself to us

after we— in gambit of breed,
of anchorite, of wind-thieved

bondage—have broken fast
an hour terraced, gifted.

Unskulled by our new names,
no need now to pronounce

yours. Unleashed dogs,
magnolia tongue, galleries of clouds

scud your historical, destined tidings,
votary, from branch to branch.

Where now? Where ever be your twigs
& shell & twining, we are your flying.