Jasmine Zhen
Redmond
Youth Poet
![Featured image for Ode to the Flightless Bird](https://www.4culture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Jasmine_Zhen-1.jpg)
Ode to the Flightless Bird
Tomorrow’s grocery list lies contorted in the child’s hands,
Crease, fold, smooth, and a bird is born,
Thrown to the will of the wind— mayday, mayday!
The paper avian plummets into the rippling stream;
All-knowing aquamarine, oblivious to our
Futile maps and mind-made manifests,
Bring this flightless bird
Home.
Photo by: Timothy Aguero Photography