Rachel Rix, Sacramento, California, USA
Life isn’t always
for the willing.
A honey-eater’s flute-like call
the last song sung
for a female that would never come.
Favoring Lobelia nectar,
but forced to higher ground.
In 1987, David Boyton was the last
to hear its query—is anyone out there?
It’s possible the ʻōʻō never went extinct.
Twice rediscovered.
But his survival’s unlikely;
his call is loud and distinct.
Rachel Rix earned an MFA from Sierra Nevada University and has forthcoming work in War, Literature & the Arts. She has recently published work in Verdadand Right Hand Pointing, and was shortlisted for the Billy Collins Fish Anthology 2020 poetry contest. Rachel lives in Sacramento, where she is a CMT. She lives with her husband, Adam, and their two cats, Floppy and Leo.