Summary

“I am a Bird Now” is a poem about a man named Antony, singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons, who’s voice and style of singing the speaker likens to that of Nina Simone. The speaker explores the emotions and associations elicited by the man’s voice. The poem is in dialogue with the song “Feeling Good,” a song that Nina Simone recorded a popular cover version of, and features the repetition of the lyrical line “you know how I feel” (83). All throughout the piece Hayes incorporates bird and arrow imagery in relation to the music as well, using words like “quiver,” “slung,” “wing,” and “winded” (83, 84).

“Cocktails with Orpheus” finds the speaker of the poem at a bar sharing drinks with the mythical figure Orpheus, who through the power of his skillful musicianship convinced Hades to set free his beloved Eurydice...