Owen starts his day
with busy work,
a sheet to fill
while all the children arrive:
Color these 2 birds
so no one can say
which is more beautiful.
Painstakingly, he shades
one crudely sketched figure
with blue, red, green,
a true painted bunting,
one of his first toys.
How to equal that?
He dreams up another:
Sunset Bird,
fires it with all the hues
of vermillion, rose, gold,
citron, indigo, orchid
his crayon box holds.
Do you remember that sunset we saw
on the way home from Bob and Irene’s,
where the sky was like liquid gold? he asks.
I made the bird like that.
Walking by the paper
stuck to the fridge,
his little brother often says:
I never seen a bird
so beautiful as
The Sunset Bird,
pure admiration and respect.
He remembers that sky, too.
—
Erin Robertson teaches outdoor nature writing classes and is Writer in Residence for Friends of Coal Creek. Her poetry has been published in journals and recorded by The Crossing. Past honors include being a guest artist hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Kazakhstan, Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence in Alaska, and Boulder County Artist in Residence. She lives in Louisville, Colorado with her remarkable husband, two sons, parakeet, and pup. www.erinrobertson.org
