a jay grabs the grasshopper
out of the air
and flies into the twisted limbs
of thr juniper
later i see a family across
a dry gulch
and wonder which are the parents
and which the overgown
nestling
still trying to get food
out of its parents
i imagine that basin filled
with water during the monsoons
the tree covered in swirling waters
battered by stones
where will birds be?
are they social like crows?
will they huddle together
even though the fledgling
will have long since
struck out
on its own?
Words and Feathers 