12,735 listening now on Merlin, meet your local avian population,
hot migrating singles and the unicorns of the bird world,
the lost vagrant, cover girl of telephoto fame,
most of those birds die you know,
and I don’t travel to see them anymore
because I hate the feeling of being one of many,
of hunting out a reported sighting with the masses,
their high-powered binos and tactical vests,
no offense to any birders who may keep a more chic profile,
you can’t show up in that crowd and keep your self respect,
like good sex, bird sightings should be a gift of god,
happenstance, this meeting will only occur once,
ichigo ichie they say in the japanese tea ceremony,
which is a beautiful sentiment and very true
since the time I learned it was with my ex-fiance,
along with his best friend,
and one could reasonably conclude
this combination of people is unlikely to recur,
unless I were allowed to call a tribunal
and it’s important to abide by anti-carceral principles,
to move on, to make the train,
to accept what hasn’t happened,
slip between the cup and lip, generous
abundance of what life does offer,
daily exchange of citrus fruits with a beloved associate
or not so generous, answering
the degrading summons of the universe with ‘on my way,’
because what so-called nice men don’t understand
is I’ll simply argue with you about everything
unless put in my place, even if that sounds unfeminist,
I don’t really think of my sexual proclivities as part of my politics,
except insofar as women should be allowed to have a lot of it,
but I could use less family planning as a society personally,
it’s a good thing but it’s how I’m here single and childless,
when I could have been tied to an apron string somewhere,
I know it’s retrograde and I don’t really believe it,
I believe in the liberation of my people womankind,
I just think we didn’t consider all of the consequences,
but I’ll take them—it’s a kink, taking things,
so at least I’ve got that going for me,
that and the return of catbirds in spring to come,
the appreciation for a bird encounter,
the occasional awed observation of a red-tailed hawk
tearing into its dinner in the high branches, proving that sometimes,
there can be feasting too