My Patio Birds
by Helen George

On my patio fence, I hung a bird feeder,
Hoping to tempt birds, entice them to eat here,
And, lo and behold, a flock of sparrows appeared,
As I watched through the door and silently cheered.

Then the little gray squirrels the peanuts would chew,
And the bluejays, too, grabbed a peanut, then flew,
Occasionally, a robin was spotted walking around,
Looking for worms while pecking the ground.

This morning brought a pair of cardinals, bright red,
They pecked at the seed, but when startled, they fled,
On the ground, several mourning doves waddled around,
I'm entranced by their cooing, what a marvelous sound.

Then later, starlings arrived for the suet cakes,
Feet clinging to the cages, they peck, dropping flakes,
And three times I saw a very large black crow,
I'm staring in awe, can this really be so?