BEAKS

They say he arrived before the storm and never left. His crow knows three languages. He knows four. The chain around his neck once belonged to someone who made the mistake of staring too long.

Tenure at no university, yet every scholar quotes him. The pipe has been lit since 1987. The feathers in his hat are from birds that chose to give them willingly. He asks questions he already knows the answers to.

She picks a new flower every morning and gives it to no one. The mountains behind her have watched her cry exactly once. The spiral on her dress is a map, nobody has been brave enough to ask where it leads.