A Generation of Bird Watchers
by Becky Laurenzana
The distant dove cries
by Becky Laurenzana
The distant dove cries
The
cardinal the color of blood rests on a worn fence
Fluttering
wings like eyelashes
Opening
to this complicated world
Through
a torn screen
Damage
left from a raging storm from tumultuous seasons past
Yet
the beauty is beyond the screen
It
is in the generation of bird watchers
Each
spring we perch
In
distant cities
In
distant countrysides
In
different spaces of time
When
I come to this window the pitter-patter of my heart connects
A
little boy staring at his grandpa’s bird books
A
grandpa holding his granddaughters hand walking through quiet
pastures
Only
the bird’s song connects
The
man packing combat fatigues listening to the chirp amidst the scream
of city sirens
The
suburban woman staring through the screen
Eye-lids
fluttering in harmony with bird wings
Yet
the beauty is beyond the screen
It
is in the generation of bird watchers
From
Becky Laurenzana:
I hold a B.A. in English from Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana,
where I studied poetry and creative writing. In recent years, I’ve
studied creative nonfiction with writer editor Julianna Thibodeaux at
the Indiana Writers Center. I’m a yoga teacher by day and writer by
night. Much of my inspiration for poetry comes from the quiet moments
on my mat in nature. I reside in Greenwood, Indiana.