BIRD TALK
Birds carry messages you know
and not just homing pigeon
with capsules strapped to their legs
but all birds have something to say
if you know how to listen
for example the Mocking Bird
outside my window in the pepper tree
may be using the voices of other birds
but the message is all his own
and you ask me why I say his own
and not her own well if you hear
what I hear you'd understand
but that's not the point is it
the point being that the Mocking Bird
with all his trills and whistles
is determined to be heard
not like the Hummingbird
that flits from flower to flower
saying little if anything
about the wonder of the morning
and that circling Hawk above the eucalyptus
what a bird that is even on rainy days
with her head turned down
looking for a Mouse or Rabbit
and then she dives
and you wonder why I say she
but if you knew what I know when 
on rare occasions she screams
from the top of the telephone pole
after she has eaten the Mouse
you wouldn't have to ask about her sex
but these two Lark Sparrows hopping
after each other chirping as they go
on my pear tree are a gentler sort
the smallest one singing and teasing
the other about something maybe
they saw down in the valley
but the one whose voice is clearest
falling like heavy leaves
from the top of the chestnut tree
is the great Crow cawing and cawing
warning that even the tiniest bird 
that nobody ever wants to hurt
has enemies enough
to keep the day interesting.

Interested in that hummingbird logo on Clyde's shirt?  Check:  http://vibrantsoap.com/