Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Nuthatch
by Kirsten Dierking
What if a sleek, grey-feathered nuthatch
flew from a tree and offered to perch
on your left shoulder, accompany you
on all your journeys? Nowhere fancy,
just the brief everyday walks, from garage
to house, from house to mailbox, from
the store to your car in the parking lot.
The slight pressure of small claws
clasping your skin, a flutter of wings
every so often at the edge of vision.
And what if he never asked you to be
anything? Wouldn't that be so much
nicer than being alone? So much easier
than trying to think of something to say?
from Alice: What pleasure Betty took walking through the woods, by herself but not alone, watching the leaves tremble, the sunlight change, and spying back on all the birds and lightfooted creatures that spied on her.
