A journal of art + literature engaging with nature, culture, the environment & ecology

Wheatfield with Mynahs

Crispin Rodrigues, Singapore

After Van Gogh

The birds are conspiring again.

An open field means an open agenda,

collusion with the sky. The mynahs, boldest,

dominate the discussion, the sparrows comply.

Somewhere out there a kite awaits,

the tremors in its claws reaching out

to prey. The sight of the predator throws

the scene into a kerfuffle – impasto of velvet

feathers, while the hunted engage in aerial swirls,

smearing screeches across the canvas. The grass

hides the dead, preserving leftover conversations

for cats prowling in pitches after dark.

Crispin Rodrigues is a poet and essayist. His first collection of poetry, Pantomime, was published by Math Paper Press in 2018. His poems, short stories and creative non-fiction has been featured in Kepulauan (2014), A Luxury We Must Afford (2016) and Eunoia Review, among others. He is currently working on his second collection of poetry, slated for publication in 2019.

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