A Poem by Sara Sutter

by Mark Bibbins, Editor

The Changing Snow Chicken

A type of grouse. A game bird whose
name originates from imitation

of all the grumbling he does — “his
song is more like a croak” — thus few souls go

within earshot. The Changing Snow
Chicken lives in the Arctic and changes

“from brown in summer to a nice
winter plumage in winter.” “Naturally,”

he explains, “this helps me blend in-
to my environment, which I refuse

to leave although it’s the harshest
tundra on the planet.” This, he tells you

while wagging his comb — his sole
ornament, big as a half-closed fist —

Sara Sutter wrote a chapbook, Sirenomelia, published by Poor Claudia. Her poems and essays appear in Bayou, Fence, Windsor Review and various artisan journals.

You will find more poems here. You may contact the editor at poems@theawl.com.