ALL THOSE LITTLE BROWN BIRDS (poem)

© Jane Piirto. All Rights Reserved.

dappled, the differences

like trying to tell twins apart

(one has a mole on his chin, one doesn’t)

eastern phoebe/least flycatcher

brown thrasher/sage thrasher

wood thrush/Swainson’s thrush

ovenbird/northern waterthrush

house sparrow/Harris’ sparrow

swamp sparrow/song sparrow

not to mention wrens or grebes

How do they recognize each other?

when mating time comes

are they psychic bi-racial monogamous

homosexual androgynous misogynous

polygamous do they secrete species

signals? wrinkle their eyebrows?

wiggle a nose? wink? sneer?

sing the old school song?

this bird

this he she fledgling winter summer

mating plumage nesting flying

won’t stop long enough

for me to check my book

my book is no help

like trying to find a friend’s friend

at a football game.  He’s the one

you can’t miss him with the medium brown hair

it used to be short but it might be long

he might be gray by now wide shoulders

usually wears a brown sweater crew neck

getting a pot belly but might be jogging

hawk nose bird legs usually perches and waves

his arms in a fierce yell at the 50-yard line

you’d know him anywhere 71 “ more or less