CL Bledsoe

The Old World Is Dying, and the New One Struggles to be Born. This Is the Time of Monsters.
― Antonio Gramsci

The crows are dyeing themselves pink just
to break things up. They speak fluent German,
or at least well enough to fool me. One of them
scattered sand in the parking lot and did a soft-
shoe. I never knew birds could applaud. I’m trying
to get out of my car to take my groceries up. There’s
a murder of them gathered around the dancer.
Some have feathers—obviously, but I mean
from other types of birds’—stuck in their heads,
woven into necklaces. One of them raises a wing
and they begin to sing. Another passes around
small cups of beer. I don’t know if it’s really
beer, but they’re singing in German so it seems
like a safe bet. My ice cream is melting. When
I opened my door a few minutes ago, they all
yelled at me, raucous cries. I shut the door
and they’ve ignored me since. I was going to
watch that new show everyone’s talking about.
I don’t know what it’s about, but everyone hates it.

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Raised on a rice and catfish farm in eastern Arkansas, CL Bledsoe is the author of more than thirty books, including the poetry collections Riceland, The Bottle Episode, and his newest, Having a Baby to Save a Marriage, as well as his latest novels Goodbye, Mr. Lonely, and The Saviors. Bledsoe lives in northern Virginia with his daughter.

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