I wonder if the house finches know
they own the yard this year—
the cheery red-headed finches,
the cardinals, sparrows, mourning doves
and the large lone pigeon who began visiting
last week as I fell ill, to peck beneath the feeder.
All of them.
They can have the yard this year I think
as I heave myself off the couch,
slip my feet into my empty red boots
pull a shawl around my shoulders
and stumble outside to offer them
some food.
This poem first appeared in Days of Grace and Silence: A Chronicle of COVID’s Long Haul (2024).
—
Ann E. Wallace is 2023-24 Poet Laureate of Jersey City, NJ and host and producer of The WildStory: A Podcast of Poetry and Plants for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. She is the author of Days of Grace and Silence: A Chronicle of COVID’s Long Haul (Kelsay Books) and Counting by Sevens (Main Street Rag). Her work is online at AnnWallacePhD.com and on Instagram @annwallace409.
