BIRD WORDS

The words are pouring out again –
I’m not sure how they come –
Awake, asleep, at dawn, at dusk –
They aren’t as shy as some.
They gently squeeze between the steps –
They dodge – they dart – they dare –
They have a keen intelligence –
They know when to beware.

They come and go in their due time –
And I just have to write –
Sometimes they stay with me all day –
But sometimes they take flight.
With sequin eyes – by window panes –
They sense me through the glass –
I try hard not to startle them –
They hide – they seek – they pass.

They do not ask for cleverness –
They do not covet power –
They flutter in and out at will
At any given hour.
They swoop – they rise – advance – retreat –
They give – they gain – they brood –
Their furtive gleaning lasts all day –
They thank me for the food.

I offer ordinary seed –
And sometimes I forget –
But they return – forgiving me –
They overlook the debt
As if they owed me providence!
Their generous reprieve
Is feeding me with confidence
To share and to receive.

(2 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)