​Filled With Emptiness, by Lee Marcus

Ouiseaux Rouges (Red Birds), by Max Ernst (Germany) 1926

​Filled With Emptiness

Red birds perch and pray, beaks touch mildly
while swirling hurricanes subvert wings, shadows
morph, suns rise, feathers flutter wildly
as harsh sides of wood cages close and enclose
lashing tongues, tearful eyes, ears, beating hearts
constrained within cycles of vicious mirth.
The viewer of this savagery departs,
unwilling to observe oppression’s birth
amidst stone columns, harsh gallery lights,
hushed tones detached from feathery madness,
and heedless of these desperate, hopeless fights.
Outside the prison of our nakedness
lives on humanity’s unabashed shame
at the destruction inside, outside of 

this frame.

Lee Marcus

Lee Marcus is a high school English teacher from Brooklyn, NY. When not encouraging young people to engage in academic discussions about poetry and prose or inspiring them to improve their writing skills, he enjoys yoga, running, walking his dog, Chef, and the joys of being a new parent (this list is not in order of priority). He also loves to write, cook, and bake, which he does, mostly during the summer, in Hinsdale, MA.