A sharp magic moment when you spy a Kōtare
She razors through the air,
Hunting out her tiny prey
Perched upon the watchtower,
Silhouette against the sky
Regal, a tiny Queen with fire in her eye.
The fisher of the kings,
Chieftainness of riverbanks
Preening the deepest rainbow
Illustrated on her flanks
She takes up residence within
The most majestic quarters
Living wild amid the woodland
Or the salt-coastal waters
Devouring what comes her way,
From crab to lizard-kind
Struggling to adjust to the new reality
In which she finds
Human-folk who choke the seas
And Frankenstein the land
Her future or destruction
Rests within our bloodstained hand.
Anonymous Submission: 2020
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