Catherine Chandler's Poetry Blog

Monday, September 16, 2024

"My little chickadee"?

 

 

 

Wing-stroke

For the women in the shelters and those who didn't make it

 

His pockets stuffed with Nyger seed,

          he wonders if it’s true

that black-capped chickadees will feed

          from outstretched hands. They do.

 

He stands in fascination while

          it pecks, relaxed and cool

yet circumspect. He has to smile;

          this bird is no one’s fool.

 

It senses something in his touch,

          flits from the palm just kissed,

as if it feels the coming clutch

          of steady hand to fist.

 

Smart chickadee, to notice in

          the blinking of an eye,

the monster in this next of kin

          who wouldn’t hurt a fly.


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