wintry gust
dismisses the flock
flight like leaves
Aperitif
last of the phlox
the final sips
of summer sustenance
Near Enough
a great blue
dwarfed by ancients
returning to sacred ground
Palisades
sacred spot
where eagles teach
flight
First Light
morning hunt
the field awakens
and so the give and take
The Guardian
hen defender
shaman’s shield
the cockerel divinare
Dizzy
upside down
spinning round and round
the downey has his fill
Flying South
before
the formation
is found
Convening
clatter and clamor
news swap and weather reports
before the southern journey
Kasco
rising
into flight
spirit casting shadow
Peppered Sky
sky peppered with birds
the seasoning of spring
Cardinal
fulfilling ecclesiastical duties
of bearing beauty and witness
carrying divinity’s spirit
In The Interval
the birch
wears feathers
while waiting for leaves
Gathering of Bohemians
wanderers rest
finding rhapsody
in the crabapple tree
Flight
tail feathers
dipped in sunshine
rising on the updraft of spring
Prologue
before the song of spring
the robin can be seen
Bandit
defiant
the masked bandit
pillages the crabapples
Holding the Space
facing the world
holding the space between them
safe and sacred
Repast
banquet on the vine
feast for feathered friends
Convocation
a murder in the birch
the only victim time
Clean
the flock bathes
in clear waters and pools of sunlight
splash splash community bath
Balance
on one leg or two
mallards balance
on a river log
Glide
in a silent world
where the self is heard
motion is effortless
Before the Journey
on still water
geese convene
at the heron nest
Late
geese arrive
later than usual
bewildered by the lack of spring
Return
the sky clears to blue
birds are on the wing
dear, tender, true spring
Feathered Nest
tossed by the wind
the feathered nest
made of moss and hope
will be built again
The Boys
together
they navigate
winter’s slow ending
Pileated
the woodpecker reaches out
for the most succulent frozen crabapple
on the tree
Palisades
eagles nests
affirm
this sacred place