Rumored Among the Living
The purple morning cracks open | leaving the shadows split |
the ivory-billed, laid in the tomb | the orange glow drawing out
the breath of the dirt | once covering the grass |
near the women who discover | women who tell |
men’s ears pitched too high | the newborn light yawns awake |
the ivory-billed rumored to be spotted among the living |
one white stripe caught at the tree line
J. R. Welch is a multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Hayti, Missouri, in the Bootheel, and based in New Orleans for over two decades. His writing has appeared in Reckon Review, Queen’s Review, Pictura Journal, The Christian Century, and Blueline Magazine. He was longlisted by Kristen Arnett for the Southeast Review World’s Best Short-Short Story. His art has been featured at the George Dunbar Gallery, in Gulf Stream Magazine, and Oakland Review. He is a 2026 Arts Interchange Resident with the Ross Lynn Foundation.
Amethyst Review 