This August morning by Sarah Russell

hummingbirds are at the feeder--
impossible creations dipping
into the nectar.
I wonder at their flair for flying
backwards, their nests no bigger
than a walnut shell, their weeklong
journeys on whirligig wings following
the flowers. It gives me peace,
thinking of small, iridescent lives,
momentary and breathtaking.



Sarah Russell’s poetry and fiction have been published in Rattle, Misfit Magazine, Third Wednesday, Red Eft Review, and many other journals and anthologies. She is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She has 3 poetry collections published by Kelsay Books, I lost summer somewhere (2019), Today and Other Seasons (2020), and Emergence (2025). Her novella The Ballerina Swan Lake Mobile Homes Country Club Motel was published by Running Wild Press. She blogs at https://SarahRussellPoetry.net