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of TheColumnists.com
Curious, that birds have rudely turned their
backs
On saintly Audubon.
An oasis in the wild, this sanctuary bears his name
But draws no winged visitors these days,
A mystery still unresolved.
The spring's in swing,
The trees are bursting with their buds
Around the verdant canyon.
Even butterflies are fluttering along the forest trails,
A rabbit hops insouciantly through the needle-pointed yucca,
And the lizards scurry scraping 'round the rocks.
Meantime birds it seems have organized some aviary boycott,
Playing stay-away in flocks and droves---
The ravens, sparrows, towhees, blue jays, Cooper's hawks, and
chickadees,
Well-known throughout the region.
A sanctuary volunteer, quite elderly and kindly,
Offers meager grains of hope.
"Our feeders draw the hummingbirds,
But only later in the year."
They'd better. Otherwise the ghost of Audubon materialized
Will soon petition for removal of his name.
---The Randall Davey Audubon Center, Santa Fe, NM
©2008 by Paul Hertelendy. The illustration is courtesy of photographer David Dawson and the On the Wing website. This poem first posted May 5, 2008.
Paul Hertelendy is critic
and webmaster for the arts-review web site www.artssf.com, and
is also the Piedmont (CA) Centennial poet laureate. To visit his
website, click here: PAUL
You can comment
on this column online. Please address your message to either
"The Editors" or Paul Hertelendy. To send an email,
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