Poetry

Cardinal (6/25/23)

Gazing out my window
Cup of coffee in my hand
On my desk a piece of paper
Blank-waiting for my plan

Words jumble in my head
I can’t get them to behave
And then a flash of red
A cardinal catches my gaze

He perches on the wire
Right outside my window pane
I feel like he can see ME
A moment impossible to explain

He visits just a moment
Before gliding to the feeder
I keep looking for his mate
But I don’t see her

Maybe she’s back in their love nest
Sleeping in this dreary morn
Perhaps she was awake all night
Protecting their brood from the storm

The cardinal flits away
In his clenched beak some seeds
A doting mate and loving father
His family he works to feed

And as he flies out of sight
My parting thought is this
I’m jealous of that lady bird
I blow her mate a kiss