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Mirage of Stillness

Tim Murphy

Silence broken by raven wingbeats.

The valley appears empty, still

until coyote’s long shadow

traces distant hillsides

as dusk descends.


Rattlesnake awakes,

emerges, squirrel darts

through clearing,

the ant’s six legs

ever questing.


Rabbits, quail graze,

scurry under sagebrush

almost unseen

by the great owl

whose five-note call

all but freezes


always moving

desert floor.




Tim Murphy (he/him) is a disabled attorney, environmentalist, and poet who lives in Portland, Oregon. His writing primarily explores disability and the more-than-human world. Tim’s poetry appears in Wordgathering, CERASUS Magazine, Honeyguide Literary Magazine, Writers Resist, The Long COVID Reader, and more. Instagram and Twitter (@brokenwingpoet).

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