ann e. wallace
I wonder if the house finches know
that 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 thought
as I heaved myself off the couch,
slipped my feet into my empty red boots
pulled a shawl around my shoulders
and stumbled outside to offer them
some food.
***
Ann E. Wallace is a poet who lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her poetry collection, Counting by Sevens, is available from Main Street Rag (2019), and she has published poems in numerous journals including Stirring, Mom Egg Review, Wordgathering, Riggwelter, and Snapdragon. Her work can be found at AnnWallacePhD.com and on Twitter @annwlace409.