James Ciano is the author of the debut poetry collection The Committee of Men (BOA, 2026) and an editor of Swirl & Vortex: Collected Poems of Larry Levis (Graywolf, 2026). He holds an MFA from New York University and a PhD in creative writing and literature from the University of Southern California.

The Angel of Grief Weeping Over the Dismantled Altar of Life

by James Ciano

What did I expect
holding the day’s dead

robin in my hand,
this one flown into


the sliding-glass door,
splayed on the porch,


no bigger than a woman’s
dropped glove.
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