What the Birds Teach

Life on Guard



How carefully birds feed…

            One by one they come

And take their turns,

            By landing on branches,

Pausing to descend,

            Onto the feeder gently,

For each and every seed,

            While never turning,

Their backs for long ,

            Knowing that they too,

Easily become food,

            For those in wait for them. 

Is that the way we eat,

            Setting our feeders,

Around the tables,

            Where we hover,

And wait our turns,

            To pass food mannerly,

Naturally covering mouths,

            When our meals talk back?

If only we could eat,

            With such civility,

In a world where we dare not,

            Turn our backs,

Feeling unseen eyes watching,

            With hungry talons for us.