POEM:  Summer birds

by Kathie Houchens July 19, 2013 (Copyright)

Descending in a cloud of

flutter and twitter

an avian nebula settles on my feeder post

-- lots of options for an easy meal –

peanuts, safflower, thistle, suet.

Only the hummingbird goes to the arbor for his

sweet nectar,

placed where he can imbibe without the traffic jam.

Finches - gold and red, sparrows, a nuthatch, the woodpecker pair

are regulars.

An occasional bluejay or starling gang

stops for a quick gobble.

The garden is abundant now

with rudbeckia, zinnias, Echinacea and more.

Insatiable, it seems, the flocks forage

among the flowers, too.

Not far off, the pond and stream

offer drinks and baths for those who care to tarry.

The rare appearance of the great heron

sends the fish down deep.

I ask myself how supplying the heron with a meal

is any different than providing seed or suet?

Somehow it is.

I’ve stopped naming the fish, though.

Summer birds!  I love

the flash of their wings,

their cheerful song to start the day.