Beneath Burnt Brown Fur
by Rebecca St. Pierre

Elusive finned ribbons
flowing in rippled sky
suddenly take flight.

Her teeth clamp
on a whitecap,
fat snout filling
with frigid water,
droplets glistening
on mountains of muscles
beneath burnt brown fur.

She plunges beneath
the swirling eddies,
where the air is thin,
seizes a pausing morsel
of pink marbled fat
encased in a sheath of scales.

Life sacrificed to sustain
new life swimming within.

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Rebecca St. Pierre is a Canadian writer, poet, photographer, and digital composite artist. Nature is her muse and mentor. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, such as The Literary Platform, Honeyguide Magazine, and The Dirigible Balloon. She was the featured artist and the featured photographer in 2025 issues of Blank Spaces Magazine and ON Nature Magazine, respectively. You will find more of Rebecca’s work at her website:
WordFlightAndLight.mypixieset.com.

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Artist Statement: My contributions to this issue focus on nourishment discovered within Nature, sustaining both non-human and human communities. In this poem, a female bear and migrating salmon fuel a healthy environment through their battle for survival. <p>

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Featured image: “Thames Tempest,” by Rebecca St. Pierre