The Names of Birds
Daniel Wolff
A field guide to perception, The Names of Birds is about how we see the “natural world.” That is, how we approach what isn’t us and name what we see. It also offers detailed observations of common North American birds.
“Common Crow,” from The Names of Birds:
I could name this Worship, thiscall from somewhere in the top of the elm.
Could point to the obvious strain of the caller:
head lowered, tail rising, gross throat stretched.
Could declare that prayer was as common and coarse
as need. And what would that make me?