Sparrow in Screened-In Porch

1 Minute Read Time

This photograph shows a sparrow looking out of a screened-in porch, of sorts. — Photo by Brajendra Singh on Unsplash

I marvel at his toes, how 
they hook into squares
of wire—a wasted deftness, 
going nowhere.

He darts—one corner
to another—a mind racing 
between two solutions, 
both wrong.

When I chase him to a stop 
under a table, I see the cherry 
pit of his heart trying to beat 
its way out of its cage.

Who hasn’t looked up
at something large and looming, 
intent unknown? I slide
a Styrofoam cup over his body

and hold him like a god—indifferent, 
bewildered, afraid—and carry him 
through the door that’s been ajar
all the time.

James Wyshynski

grew up in the Bronx, NY, the son of second-generation Ukrainian immigrants. After studying English and Russian Studies at Colby College, he received his MFA in Poetry at the University of Alabama. Traveling from North to South, with pit stops along the way in New England, Wyshynski has absorbed the fullness of American life and reflected its strange, often beautiful contradictions in his work. His poems are crafted with meticulous attention, inviting readers into moments of sharp observation and resonant emotion. Often exploring themes of memory, cultural inheritance, and the subtle complexities of everyday life, Wyszynski’s work has appeared in publications such as The Cincinnati Review, American Poetry Review, and Nimrod, and he has been recognized twice by the Pushcart Press.

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