Paul Ilechko
If Cranes Were Rooks
The wild cranes fly towards me
but at an altitudeimagine filming them
against the white of snow
it's an old Russian movie that's trying
not to be a metaphor for purity
I understand that I'm dealing in nostalgia here
and what if the cranes were really rooks
nesting in the horse chestnut trees
that edge the stone-circled cemetery
their nestscanoes built from twigs
silhouetted against the brightness of winter.
Bio
Paul Ilechko is a British American poet and occasional songwriter who lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bennington Review, Bear Review, Atlanta Review, Permafrost, and Laurel Review. His book "Fragmentation and Volta" was published in 2025 by Gnashing Teeth Publishing. He reads for Marrow Magazine.