Flown

by Darrell Petska

That venerable philharmonic
fading forever into darkness—

nightingale’s flute
thrush’s piccolo
quail’s oboe

So long their symphonies
have raised dawn’s curtain

lark’s violin
goose’s cello
cuckoo’s clarinet

their voices now migrating
to archival recordings

woodpecker’s drumming
crane’s trumpeting
crow’s bassooning

silent stand stork and pelican
remembering lost brethren:

passenger pigeon, dusky sparrow
carolina parakeet, heath hen
ivory-billed woodpecker, great auk…

silence swelling
for the somber swan’s finale