NAMED ONE OF THE BEST POETRY COLLECTIONS OF 2024 BY LIT HUB AND ELECTRIC LITERATURELONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 NBCC AWARD IN POETRYConsider the Rooster serves as an ode to a roosters crow a catalyst for awakening both literally and figuratively.Amidst the Covid19 Pandemic the aftermath of George Floydampampamp8217s murder by police and the resulting upsurge in reactionary rightwing militia violence a neighbor in Kalamazoo Michigan threatens to call the police after discovering the authorampampamp8217s pet rooster. The rooster sounds the alarm and our author wakes to revolutionary transformation. An ecological consciousness embedded in these verses invites readers to acknowledge their place in a web of relations.ampampamp160Oliver Baez Bendorfampampamp8217s voice resounds through liminal spaces at dusk and dawn across personal meditations and wider cultural awakenings to form a collection overflowing with freedom rebellion mischief and song.