BIRDS OF THE TREES

The crows, pigeons, sparrows and thrushes sing

each gives the other permission to sing

they know the music they know the song

that they sing everyday in a sequence

the arrangement is written in response

to itself through the music of the world

nothing is inert when it is resting

silence restored is silent redemption

the bird does not sing when forced to sing

it is not beckoned to go wandering

but migrates with the seasons to return

the bird is more constant than anything

humanly devised, anticipated,

or accidentally devised by fate.