I can’t wait to bring you the poem “Quiscalus” by Dr. Aaron Tucker in Common Measure Vol. 1!

“Quiscalus” is an avian genus comprising seven of the grackle species. Indeed, the poem opens with the beautiful lines:

the night, grackle feather black

broken only by stars’ bright spikes

Note the chiasmic rhyme, the first clause “night” rhyming with the last clause of the second line “spikes”; and the hard consonance, “grackle / feather / black / broken / stars / bright / spikes” — a powerful opening!

Set in Marfa, Texas, the place of the poem bleeds into different locations through memory. Tucker remembers growing up in the arid Okanagan region of British Columbia which reminds him of the southern American desert.

The poem will be accompanied by four photographs that the author took in Marfa! For sure including — don’t worry — the Prada store.

One super interesting thing I learned from the poem is that, according to some traditions, the grackles have seven distinct songs, given voice to the seven passions. As Tucker writes:

of grackles, zanates, their perfect mimicry

& seven distinct songs, filling the large tree

…

Love, Hate, Fear, Courage, Joy, Sadness, & Anger

I can’t wait to bring you the full poem in the print magazine. In the meantime, check out Tucker’s latest book, Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys from Coach House Press. 

Photo by Aaron Tucker