​I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way—After a Postcard, by Tessa C. Berman

Vintage postcard of unknown origin.

​I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way—After a Postcard
          An Invocation 
 
On cat’s feet, not quite little,
I traverse the blank page…
 
          Within my bag, 
          Red, red, red:
          A book or two,
          Papers, thread.
          Form--an umbrella--
 
          Closed at my side,
          Tucked beneath my arm.
 
          Hungry for phrases.
          Hungry for words.
 
          I eat birds, I eat birds. 
          Skylark, Raven, Thrush.
 
          Behold:
          I am Nightingale’s turned claws,
          Serpent eyes to watch in gold.
 
Tessa C. Berman
 
Tessa C. Berman is a current undergraduate student at the University of Virginia, where she studies as an Echols Scholar and an Ideal Scholar. She concentrates on English Literature alongside Psychology with a focus on Neuroscience and is working toward completing a thesis on bird symbolism in poetry from the Romantic period forward. As a Wolfe Docent Fellow, she is currently curating an upcoming special collections exhibit on the work of poet and civil rights activist, Anne Spencer.