A Migration of Cranes to a Temporary River: Poems, by Wesley R. Bishop

Poetry, chapbook, 28 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

This chapbook is rooted in the annual migration of sandhill cranes to northern Alabama, where thousands of birds arrive each winter to rest and feed. The poems observe these migrations closely, but also use them as a lens to reflect on the broader human condition. Just as the cranes move freely across borders, the collection questions the political and cultural forces that try to restrict or control human movement.

By drawing connections between the natural cycles of migration and the current state of the United States, these poems position the cranes as both subjects of beauty and symbols of resistance. The collection suggests that migration is not only natural, but essential to life, and that efforts to deny it are undemocratic and destructive. In weaving together ecology, politics, and personal reflection, the chapbook asks readers to consider how freedom of movement—whether for birds or people—shapes our shared future.

Wesley R. Bishop is a historian, poet, and editor living in northern Alabama. His previous books include Liberating Fat Bodies: Social Media Censorship and Body Size Activism, The Sound of Color: Poems, and COVID19 Haiku: Short Poems in a Long Year. He is the founding and managing editor of North Meridian Press.