TOP OF THE PECKING ORDER by Maggie Sinclair

Priscilla is old.

Priscilla was the best layer, reliable. Now she sits, looking across the fields.

Once, Priscilla was in charge. She taught the youngsters all she knew, how to roost in the indulgent nesting boxes, not the practical perches, how to mess up their own beds. Now she sits, looking across the winter fields.

Priscilla consumes too much. The youngsters defer, and Priscilla eats. Food is a heavy cost.
In the bleached whiteness of the surgery, the vet suggests Priscilla should go quietly to sleep. But Priscilla holds memories, so we carry her home.

Now the youngsters fight for food. And we wonder, what’s to be done about Priscilla?

And Priscilla looks across the barren winter fields, believing spring will come again.

Maggie Sinclair writes because the words in her head give her no choice. Her work can be found online and in print in several magazines and anthologies.

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