Four Winged Poems to Celebrate National Poetry Month

Photo: Simen Johan

THIS TIME OF YEAR, the birds catch my attention and hold it. The robins are back, or maybe they’re just bolder. I see them most in this early spring season, when the worms are warming up out of the soil. The goldfinches are muted still, their diets not yet offering the delights that turn their plumage bright. And the mourning doves are crying all day long.

I love how focused I can be on the birds right now, without the distraction of foliage to block me from seeing them clearly. I love the way that watching them helps slow me down. This time of year, life can start to seem crowded and hectic. The school term is almost over, though there is still much work to complete. Longer days seem to come with more demands. I am grateful, then, for the birds. Grateful for the nuthatches who duck behind the arborvitae then pop out again with a precise attention honed, perhaps, by hunger. Grateful for the pair of finches whose coupled flights to the feeder entertain us every morning. They offer new ways of seeing the world.

Here are some poems I’ve selected for you:
 
 

  The Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Jane Satterfield, Autumn 2020 issue.
  His Eye on the Sparrow, Airea D. Matthews, Autumn 2020 issue.
  The Hummingbird, Blas Falconer, Winter 2020 issue.
  from Separation Anxiety, Janice Lee, Spring 2021 issue.

 

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