Black Bird January 7. 2021
By Stephanie Mesler
Black Bird, I see you there,
alone on the tip-toppiest branch of the barest tree,
just the other side of the building across the pool from where I sit,
eating my breakfast in silence,
trying not to disturb others isolated in this time and place with me,
waiting for the contagion to pass,
for covid-19 to take its leave.
Husband growls almost inaudibly at his work computer.
Daughter studies.
Dog and cat sleep at opposite ends of the couch in determined ignorance of one another’s presence.
I don’t mind the quiet; This day, I relish it.
It is the morning after the almost-coup.
I am emotionally and physically drained.
I hunger for silence; in it, there is peace.
I see you there, Black Bird.
You wait.. Listening…
Wind gently shifting the bare branches around you.
Somehow, you are still and solid, unmoved,
there on that tip-toppiest branch.
You are strength.
You are peace.
© Stephanie Mesler 2021
