Terri Kirby Erickson

Sorrow Bird

It feels as if my
face is not my

face, anymore,

but an origami,
a sorrow bird

that flaps its

wings to no
avail—unable

to fly—a song

caught fast in
its paper throat.


Terri Kirby Erickson is the author of six collections of poetry, including A Sun Inside My Chest (Press 53), winner of the 2021 International Book Award for Poetry. She lives in North Carolina.