I saw a cardinal today,
It was the first,
Flew by and didn’t
Stop for a quick
Hello,
Or to grab a bite.
Instead, it stepped aside
And made room for my
Smoke,
Unfurling from the roof
On which I perched
So that I may know
What it is like to be
A bird.

But I didn’t speak
For fear of falling
Or maybe of scaring
The first good sign
I’ve seen all
Winter long.


Its tweedledees and dums
Patronized the emptiness
With echoing echoes
And false alarms
But the only smoke was mine.

And my daft, two-left-feet ways
Precluded me from
Company,
And even leaves on trees;
So the birds took its leave,
Apathetically mind you,
They always do.

I saw a cardinal, it was the first,
Today,
And it didn’t even care
To stay.