My Crow

Still, still hidden
Behind old shirts and pants
Like an inflated sock
Hung on a slanting coat hanger

With a prophecy stuck in its throat
Probably too dark or ominous
To yaw, even to breathe

No one knows when or how
It will fly out of the closet, and call

Changming Yuan is the author of Chansons of a Chinaman. A three-time Pushcart nominee, he currently teaches English in Vancouver. His poetry has appeared in Barrow Street, Best Canadian Poetry, BestNewPoemsOnline, Cortland Review, Exquisite Corpse and RHINO, among many other journals.