there are wiser things

take from them what you can –

there are wiser things than those
that carry discernible voices –

down the street near the park,
five cherries are marked with orange

distorted by time and poor nourishment
(it’s no surprise they’ve failed to thrive)

and within this Spring’s feeble pink,
parting unfurled and scattered

come July, the city and their saws
will pare them down to stumps

before then, the crows and I
will grace them with a last goodbye

not with pious pity,
but with a graceful thanks

for their green rendering
of unknowable sky

© Sarah Whiteley

November morning

morning blushes
when she realizes where she is

and the moon
still alight travels through her

down the hill
toward its own reflection

an early crow
sitting on the tip of the pine

scolds them both
for tarrying

© Sarah Whiteley

to be treasured

Coyote rests on the fence post –
clucking and bobbing,
he does not hide his pleasure
from the April sunshine

we sit on the side porch –
laughing at crow antics
over a well-worn cribbage board,
my hair becoming tangled
in the ivy on the wall

© Sarah Whiteley

A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon – enjoying a break from Saturday’s rain. Coyote chose to join us and was so obviously happy basking in the sunshine, it was almost comical. Our new-ish neighbor stumbled upon us and no doubt is wondering if we’ve both gone senile, talking to a crow. Ah well – keep them guessing, I say!

Have a beautiful week, my friends!

bird pieces

the joy of being a bird
must be enormous –
no one else
sings so long

* * *

crow testing my crow-ness
settles beside me
to scold the garbage truck –
my silence fails the test

* * *

first day in May,
jagged bits of sky –
stumbled upon
the first robin’s egg

* * *

© Sarah Whiteley

Not everything I write down becomes a full-fledged poem. But sometimes the fragments are enough to make me happy.

thief and begger

darn crow stole my lighter
– my only one –
and tossed it into the bushes!

now bobbing head and ingratiating
croons his desire for treats
– the black-feathered cheek! –

but for the next hour, I watch
him tuck them carefully beneath stones,
treats now, treasure later

© Sarah Whiteley

I figure it’s about time for a crow update. Head on over if you’re curious about the cheeky little things…