Ryan Calo
Notifications
By the soft, machine-
gunning of little
birds, it is almost
sunrise. All the spar-
rows fight beak & claw
for a birdhouse. Land
& alight as if
fingers on the neck
of a ticklish child.
The phone waits, pregnant
with dopamine.
The birds, warred-out now,
scatter with the light.
“‘Notifications’ is a poem about waking up, an ostensibly peaceful activity. The belligerent language describing the natural world aims to foreshadow the chaos of contemporary life. The frenetic birds are waiting for us in our phones the moment we turn them on.” —Ryan Calo
Ryan Calo is a law professor and amateur poet in Seattle, Washington, where he serves on the board of the literary organization Hugo House. His poetry appears in Wayfarer Magazine and The Stonefence Review.