Familiar

My son claims
when it suits him
that he is afraid of birds.
He likes them otherwise,
can name robin, crow and cardinal,
and recognize the call
of the mourning dove.
But a flock of gray wings rising
knocks air beneath the ribs,
and who does not know this,
really, the bared-knuckle teeth
of the familiar.

About The Author

Alison Hicks’ poetry has appeared in Amoskeag, Eclipse, HeartLodge, Philadelphia Poets, Literary Mama, Peregrine, The Ledge, Pinyon, The Wooster Review and other magazines. A novella, Love: A Story of Images appeared in May, 2004. She founded Greater Philadelphia Wordshop Studio to offer community-based creative writing workshops using the Amherst Writers & Artists method.