Were those pigeons
on the window sill yesterday
fighting, or? A female cardinal tilts
her head and flutters
her wings, and I’m in
love. Robins and rabbits
(mostly tiny ones)
dart in and out
of the prairie grass
and abundance
of wildflowers. A great blue
heron on the southern bank
of Cedar Lake shows no
fear beside the trail
as I pass. Me, startled, it,
so still. Did the squirrel fall,
or was it pushed,
from the tree in Kenwood Park’s
low land? Even from this distance,
I hear the thump—then stillness.