Definitive Plumage*
︎︎︎ Joe Phelan
︎ Nov 11, 2026
After Cormac McCarthy
Resist not evil,
nor the instinct to molt,
bad luck may
save you again.
Falling feathers augur
the advent of mightier quills,
barred or mottled, bright.
Fit for roost and far-ranging flight,
the ends of wind unveiled
at their scattering.
*A bird is adult when it acquires its final or definitive plumage that is then repeated for life. (Ontario Birds 18(1):27-43 in April 2000).
Resist not evil,
nor the instinct to molt,
bad luck may
save you again.
Falling feathers augur
the advent of mightier quills,
barred or mottled, bright.
Fit for roost and far-ranging flight,
the ends of wind unveiled
at their scattering.
*A bird is adult when it acquires its final or definitive plumage that is then repeated for life. (Ontario Birds 18(1):27-43 in April 2000).