Ode on a Grecian Vacation Challenge FIRST PLACE WINNER: “Ode to the Moth That Drinks the Tears of Sleeping Birds” By Tori Gosse
It’s time to congratulate the First Place Winner of Frontier Poetry‘s Ode on a Grecian Vacation Challenge, Tori Gosse. Read their affectionately commemorative poem, selected by our editorial team, “Ode to the Moth That Drinks the Tears of Sleeping Birds.”
What is there to know and love about moths or sleeping birds? For Tori Gosse, that question is answered in immersive detail. Gosse’s lyricism stills readers and holds a magnifying glass to their wandering eye. Her subtle craft brings new tenderness to the unspoken beauty of nature.
Join Gosse for a closer look below.
Ode to the Moth That Drinks the Tears of Sleeping Birds
so gently that you don’t disturb,
siphoning tongue, sipping
under the eyelid—
a thief in the moonlight of flood season
where dart frogs chirp brightly
in the dewy warmth of the rainforest,
you settle on the nape
a hush-winged weight
where no predator lingers,
drawn to the briny shimmer,
you give a proboscis kiss that quivers—
I know birds can fly away,
but not when wings are folded,
beaks tucked against the downy,
not when their dreams are salted,
not when the night hums heated
with your hunger, black-chinned
antbirds drifting on feathered tides,
unburdened by your symbiosis,
no wound left behind,
instead a tithe is paid in brine—
I see the endless dance,
too subtle for the waking eye,
what does the salt ignite for you?
a nuptial gift, a secret hoard,
you drink as if ordained,
a dowry drawn from another’s sleep,
a ghost in deep green canopies—
I wish I had you to siphon my tears,
and leave me in the silk
where no salt streaks my face
Tori Gosse
Tori Gosse is an Undergraduate Student majoring in biology and creative writing at York University, Ontario Canada. Tori is originally from Newfoundland, Canada and is the recipient of the 2023-2024 York University President’s Award in poetry and the 2023-2024 Priscila Uppal Award from York University.
