Woodpecker

As a coal-coloured nib transcribes
hunger into bark, tail presses
into tree, bridging bones
to trunk, stabilizing plumage.

Behind the timber frame, spellbound
tongues orient skittery brains
through visionary tale-telling,
propelling ink-slopped beaks

into pages of pulverised wood,
chiseling through paper lines—
cracking open the famine
that feathers into beats of flight.

Antonia Facciponte

Antonia Facciponte (she/her/hers) writes poems. She is an author based in Toronto, and received her Master’s degree in English and Creative Writing from U of T. Her poetry explores voice-making, cultural identity, immigration, and stories as salvation. Antonia’s first poetry collection, titled To Make a Bridge (Black Moss Press, 2021), was recently featured in the second edition of the Lost Launches Reading Series.