Instructions on Packing Your Nest When Air Borders are Closing

     Lena Zycinsky

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1.      No twigs, no

         memory tokens. Strictly

         no family branches.

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2.     Pack your feathers and papers

         with full names and sex.

 

3.     If alone, pack no hopes

         for a new nest, but a weighty

         prayer.

 

4.     If with a small child, pack toys.

         Stuff your bags with as many

 

         as you possibly can: a king and a queen,

         metal soldiers and miniature horses.

 

         The journey will be long. Plus,

         you want your child to grow

 

         up, knowing that home

         is a castle.