A bird startles skyward 
Against a bank of storm clouds 
A coin falls to the floor

We measure life in portents
And omens: moment as payment

In drought, the creek slows 
Smooth rocks revealed in noon heat 
Coins unveil sorrow

Witness how grief parches
The tongue: silence as truth

Insects buzz and scrape
Eerie autumn music warns 
Winter’s coins await 

Cold complexities halt change
For a season: fate lies frozen

Wolves howl over prey 
Coin eyes flare 
Like the dawn-spark of life 

Destiny gnaws at a lost soul
Like a split bone: surrender

Bird bones fall in rain 
Rivers flow, banks bloom 
Coins part spring ground

The tale begins where it ends
And spirals on: luck wears many faces

[Written by Jay Sturner and Jennifer Crow.

Jay Sturner is a poet, fiction writer, and naturalist from the Chicago suburbs. He is the author of several books of poetry and a collection of short stories. His writing has appeared in such publications as The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Space & Time, Spectral Realms, and Not One of Us, among others. He mainly writes fantasy, horror, and science fiction, but occasionally writes in other genres. Sturner is also a professional birdwalk leader and former botanist.

Jennifer Crow writes about oceans, mythic creatures, and fairy tales, as well as the beauty of western New York state where she lives. Her work has appeared in a number of print and electronic venues over the past quarter-century, including in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog, Uncanny, Space & Time, Strange Horizons, and in anthologies like Under Her Skin, Along Harrowed Trails, and Strange Attractors.  Her short poem, “Harold and the Blood-Red Crayon” was a co-winner of the 2023 Rhysling award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Curious readers can catch up with her on Threads @kythiaranos, or on Bluesky @writerjencrow.bsky.social.]