
Another Extinction
Taylor Franson-Thiel | Poetry
Death makes names songless.
We lose a warbler in November and
December holds the silence.
Under a full moon a shock of lichen
writhes and we press
our fingerprints into its growth.
We look through blue forest
into its parking lot, loud
as the birds that used to sing.
The forest is silent.
Death hears only death—
who names us.
Taylor Franson-Thiel is the author of “Bone Valley Hymnal” (ELJ Editions 2025). She is a developmental and editorial coordinator for Poetry Daily, the Assistant Poetry Editor for phoebe and the EIC of BRAWL. She can be found @TaylorFranson on Twitter, @taylorfthiel on Instagram, @taylorfthiel.bsky.social on BlueSky, and at taylorfranson-thiel.com