Monica Korde: California Poets Part 11, Three Poems

Monica Korde

October 20th, 2026

California Poets: Part XI

Monica Korde

Three Poems

Birding through Grief

“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”― Rumi

like this large bird in white whose name I forget-

this wild thing of beauty wading on water with a lissome

grace. Stately and slender, all feathers and light. Soft reflection

mirrored in dark water. There’s so much going on under

those reeds- and this bird waits, still breath- motionless

and mute, its beak reading the ripples. I think of the word

reincarnation. How many shapes does sorrow take before it

finds its home? What if our loss seeks a name we have yet

to give? I believe in the mystery and power of naming things-

rock, river, star, child. Exalting what’s before us. To name is to

honor, to name is to love, to name is to make space—

wide, slow, deliberate. Like a prayer, I believe that by saying it

108 times each day, night after night. Something shifts deep

and this bird breaks off from its poised pose. White wings

beat once, twice as if gathering silence around it. Then, with an

almost effortless lift the bird floats to a gentle rise- parting the air

itself, white flame against blue! My gaze trailing behind catches

the fading light above- the marsh below softening into distance.

Pegasus Reborn

an ekphrastic after a copper sculpture titled Pegasus by artist Shawn Coyl

from one pulsating point to another

he drew stories in the sky for me to see

never before had I known

how simple this was

to take a walk under a moonless night

to look up and let my eyes wander into darkness

how easy it was to follow his arm

extended towards the northern sky

his fingers intertwined with mine, almost breathing

life, into each star we pointed at

and we sculpted in air this magnum opus!

a Constellation Horse- for the heavens to call as theirs.

Algenib Markab Scheat... Alpheratz

I have memorized all names, all patterns: all myth

so that even if all things were to crumble away one day

I may forge another Pegasus- welded together, piece by piece, spark by spark;

a requiem for the one that we built above the horizon

and then maybe call it our own.

HOW MANY PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DID YOU USE TODAY?

As if you don’t know where this conversation is going —

(gasp!) say: “Look what the giant corporations are doing!

growing greenwashing generating waste…”

When the oil spills into open water, b r e      a k s

into a million pieces, dark and sparkly with a rainbow sheen

and all. With those little tar balls

at your feet when you walk back home

maybe then —

you will feel bad, learn that it doesn't

come off that easily, believe that oiled bird feathers

no longer repel water, that otters, orcas and others

in the ocean must be endangered, (maybe you will) pray for the little fish in

the estuaries at risk, wonder (momentarily) if the salmon you eat

might one day no longer be. Maybe you will feel miserable then

or, find solutions to your own problems first: The Google Search shows >>

To get the beach tar off your feet, first scrape off the excess. Baby oil

works brilliantly, or even sunscreen.

For the next two hours you will continue to

browse all about the Exxon Valdez spill of March 1989

more recently about the one in Orange County, then read

how mayonnaise is saving oiled turtles found on Israel’s coast

how Mauritians around the world donated hair to create

oil booms. Maybe for a day, a week, a month

you will read and worry about the world, before you get back to your shampoo, nail polish, lipstick, deodorant, hand lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving cream, shower curtains, toilet seat, tent, toolbox, trash bags, telephone, camera, crayons, candles, credit cards, laptop, shoes, tennis rackets, golf balls, roller skates, electric blanket, fishing rod, glue, hula hoops, shag rugs, space suits, solar panels, pillows, parachutes, purses, iPad, iPhone…

As if you have nothing to do with it.

Author Bio:

Monica Korde is a poet & artist from India based in California. She served as Poet Laureate of Belmont (2021–2025) and is the city’s first South Asian immigrant to hold the role. Her practice often bridges poetry and other arts, inviting audiences to engage deeply through her readings, performances, and visual work. She founded Project POETRY 360, an initiative amplifying artistic voices across ages, identities, and cultures. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Caesura (2026), Poets For Science, Verses From the In-Between Anthology (Savitri Publications, India 2026), On Location: Coastside Edition Podcast (2026),  Weavers Literary Review Vol 1, No. 2 (Weavers Press 2025), Being Becoming Belonging Anthology (Pierian Springs Press, 2024), The New Verse News and elsewhere. As an Artist-in-Residence with Government (AIRG) through the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture (CA), she has extended her work as a poet and community builder into civic contexts.