In Jennie Feldman's second collection, the earth-shy bird of the title flies high above the territorial rivalries of its region, the Middle East. Swiftfocuses on what compels and coheres, with an instinct for encounter: a Greek beekeeper, a cello maestro, a Latin poet in an East Jerusalem cafe. Buoyed by water and the power of music, these poems pursue an elusive equilibrium. How the mind accompanies the body's faltering, hallucination where reverie should be . . . Jennie Feldmanwas born in South Africa, grew up in London, and studied French at Oxford. She lives in Jerusalem.