How to Eat Gourmet Crow on a Low-Fare Airline

by Jazz Sexton

1. Memorize definitions of 'monster' and 'human' on back of packet.
   Tear through packet—disrupting 33,000 feet of smooth silence—
   with polished talons.


2. Place hollow bones in mouth.
   With each crunch, recall the price paid for this trip.


3. While swallowing, trembling beaks pricking your esophagus,
   remember weakness begets a lesser human.
   Here we believe fear should taste satisfying.


4. Repeat until bag is empty, but not gone, and bite your tongue,
   remembering what pain feels like.


5. Keep packet as a memento of what you've become.
   Determine if 'monster' or 'human'
   defines you best.

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Jazz Sexton lives in Pittsburgh, but really wants you to know she was born and raised in south Florida where heat and palm fronds formed her. She writes poetry about recovery, retribution, and identity. Two years ago she thought she would never write poetry for an audience, but here she is. You can visit her at theironchocho.livejournal.com or jazzsexton.com. Jazz holds a BA in Fiction Writing and Certificate in Children's Literature from the University of Pittsburgh.