A Poem for Pigeon Pose

When I slide one leg back and fold the other / in front of me, my legs become like a claw / that can find balance on any surface / no matter how hard. -- excerpt from Pigeon Pose by Corie Feiner

How to explain that this bird

that was the only bird I grew up with in the streets of NYC,

that was the bird I was told to call, “a rat with wings,”

that this bird, like all birds and all flowers,

is amazing.

Artwork by Simon Rudd

Pigeons have been our companions for so long that you can find their image carved into cuneiforms and ancient hieroglyphics.

They have fought with us in our wars.

They have delivered our messages.

They have carried our mail.

They can hear the low frequency sounds of a distant storm.

And some say, Noah’s dove was not a dove, but a pigeon. Yes, a pigeon.

And pigeons, no matter where they are, can always find their way home.