And finally my
Bird friends awakened
Singing their melodies
In harmony as
They fly weave
And bounce from
Shrub to fence
To tree to
Shrub woodpeckers tap
Morse code off
In the distance
As ducks waddle
And quack at
The edge of
The pond oh
If only you
Could hear this
Symphony you’d fall
In love with
These birds as
I already have
This morning’s sky
Wears ear muffs
Everything is grayed
By cloudy voices
There is no
Definition as though
You’re peering into
A mucky pond
High above you
Even the tall
Trees have taken
On black pallor
As though they
Tarnished quickly overnight
Perhaps if sun
Can burn through
We will have
A happy day
If not it’s
Time for a
Blanket and tea
And like a
Pup waiting beneath
The dinner table
Or the feral
Cat yowling outside
The screen door
I’ve become an
Acceptor of scraps
Tossed as an
Afterthought or perhaps
A pedantic gesture
Or maybe even
A lure keeping
Me enticed until
You catch me
Measure me and
Throw me back
Oh why oh
Why when things
Go bad every
Song makes me
Cry
Is that perhaps
Our natural state
Just this side
Of crying when
A song pushes
Us over edge
You’ve been silent
And I recall
That’s how every
Other one ended
Am I now
Going down the
Same slide with
No one to
Catch me at
The lonely bottom
I spied two
Birds on a
Wire outside my
Door dancing they
Were a silly
Cadence to me
Bobbing and squeaking
But making progress
For off they
Flew into trees
Like people at
Bar time cozying
Up to dates
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 