Birds

Beautiful ruby-breasted bird
At my window every day
you nested in my heart
and opened me like the sun opens
the earth at dawn

What kind of bird are you?
An odd one
You cocked your head
and listened - sang and preened
I told you my secrets - you joined them

And I loved you
In thirteen different ways

Hummingbird jeweled and eager
At my window every day
You are nervous heart
in frightened chest
Racing and evasive flight

Is there anything I know?
You lap up the sweetness
in the center and preen
I sing for you but you won't land

And I loved you
In thirteen different ways

Inky beady shifty crow
At my window now and then
Pecking at the shiny bits
I laid out in a row
For you alone

What do I know?
You will fly and not look back
The burning best of me
stuck firmly in your talons

And I loved you
In thirteen different ways

Bitter, laughing mockingbird
Of you I get a fleeting glimpse
It comes with shame
Sorrow sword fighting with anger
leaving me misunderstood

Is there anything I know?
You made a mockery of all I revealed
Pecked away the gentle bits
I needed tended

And I loved you
In thirteen different ways

Vulture, buzzard, bird-of-prey
Never to be seen again
Now that you've consumed it all
We cannot use our tongues
Cannot stumble out

But this I know

I loved you
In thirteen different ways