one bird arrived with a sprig in its beak

The largest island of the cluster grew exquisite and weird trees! Aster disliked their lack of branches, but she found their puffed-up top and massive… nut? Fruit? Seed? Whatever the specific type, the smashable foodstuff was almost impossible to open. Even the local birds Aster observed struggled.

She lingered near a creek, flying around smoothed boulders and catching insects midair in her beak. The water fed into the beach close by, so the ocean’s breeze ruffled her feathers; she enjoyed testing her agility and reflexes against this wind. It wasn’t strong enough to completely throw her against a tree or boulder—unlike the winds near the Devil’s Spout—and the flying treats rewarded her efforts.

Naturally, the blue jay’s joy compelled her to sing.

“Sea urchin, turtle, and crab
   came with earthly know-how,
and one bird arrived with a sprig in its beak,
   before everything clouded with cries,
a millennium of small deaths now topsoil
   and seasons of blossoms in a single seed.
Light edged along salt-crusted stones,
   across a cataract of blue water,
And lost sailors’ parrots spoke of sirens,
   the last words of men buried at sea.”

// Poem Excerpt from Islands by Yusef Komunyakaa