Welcoming the Birds

The bills of these old birds
are scarred, and they look thin.
How long has their relationship lasted?
It seems to matter. Their record
of successful trips,
the evident high quality
of inner flight magnetics,
makes this year's flight no less
a miracle.

From what perspective do they view
the redundancy of windswept gardens?
How does the backward viewer
identify this apple tree as
singular, THE TREE,
and restore the old pair here,
year after tedious year?

My cynicism tells me
this is their last flight.
The better bird-house I resolved
to build seems less important. Still,
as I said, relationships matter.
I'll paint it green.

Penny Gerking