Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash

The pleasure of her presence and her song
carried through two years of summer days.
She built her nest in a hole through siding
carved by woodpeckers that we cursed and loved
in years gone by. She stood on stone of
the patio foundation wall, momentarily when she
realized we were there.

Last Spring I waited for her arrival
but she did not come, I heard no song,
the nest remained empty, warm stone abandoned.
And though the summer bustled on, without her visits
to the stone, and her perfect voice, days were not complete.

Now Solstice has gone by, New Year snow thick fallen,
I look ahead to Spring and think, if prayers go as they’re
supposed to, as trees go green, as flowers bloom,
as birds fill the yard with flight and song, then
I will pray to gods of nature and the One,
that Jenny’s song will fill their chorus, and her fledglings
learn her song.

January, 2022