Lilija Valis, author of Freedom on the Fault Line, has been published in literary and e-zine magazines and ten anthologies. She reads her work solo or with a musician at literary, musical, dance, pub and cultural events. She has two CDs out and has performed with a group at two Vancouver Fringe Festival shows. Among the poetry prizes she has won is the San Francisco Artists Embassy International Dancing Poetry contest for a festival at the Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Barbed Wire
No nest materials for birds
in the drought-stricken Dust Bowl —
fertile soil and plants ripped off
by dust storms — depression ruled
but crows have hard-times survival
embedded in their cells — they stole
wire and barbed wire from farmers,
carefully twisted them into homes
to protect their young.
A Texas photo from the 1930s
pays tribute to the barbed wire nest.
Home is where you can close
your dust-filled eyes to rest.
I’m learning from crows how
to use the barbed wire in my life
to build a nest during storms
that strip me of hope.