"In Solitary" by Kristina Mottla

[audio wma="http://barnstormjournal.org/content/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/In-Solitary-Mottla.wma"][/audio]You clip deutzia stems in winterand dry them aside the window.They won’t stallin thought of themselves, lostbirds stalking wings in a mirror, hedgingin longing.There, beyond the pane:parched half-berries, newly gluedturf, brick lining and boxed-intulips, not horticulture but distanceturned upon itself; stale hexesdaisy-framed.Sometimes you play flaggerthrough the cellar window, then pressyour ear to a cup, listening.Or leave a homing pigeon in the entrypecking seed, preservedin waiting.Kristi Mottla writes poetry in California. She has a BA from UCLA and recently earned her MFA from Lindenwood University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in such literary journals as The Catalonian Review, Ellipsis, and Hartskill Review.