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Matthew Sawtelle graduated from Catholic U in 2023 and now lives with his wife and daughter in northern Virginia. He writes formal poetry, and he has been published in previous issues of Vermilion. He served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Vermilion from 2021 to 2023.
He’s got some time to kill right now;
He eats a worm and flies
Around, then, landing on a bough,
He perches, thinks, and cries
With all the eloquence he’s learned
In imitation’s school.
His costume? Let’s just say he’s earned
Nothing from looks—can’t fool
The eye at all—but when his tongue
Lets loose, he makes himself
A hawk, a jay, a frog, a rung
Alarm. What makes his “self”
When all his best expressions come
From other birds? What is
His native tongue? What tiny crumb
Of song is only his?
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