I was gifted an eastern red columbine.
What more could I ask of a volunteer plant releasing
hydrogen cyanide than one with hermaphrodite
flowers pollinated by bumblebees & hummingbirds.
I was gifted a bird I’d never seen.
Russet-gold feathers, white-specked underbelly, eyes
to the hot pepper suet, claws the swaying cable line.
He sang his presence the previous evening.
I was gifted a quick-stepped intruder.
A devotee to chain link fences who softened
the fall of a latch. Brown thrasher, I cherish
your willingness to draw blood defending your own.
Brown thrasher, the Audubon Guide to North
American Birds says your numbers dwindle.
Describes a leaf-tossing mimic capable
of singing a thousand songs as common.
