Birds in a Bush, and: Birds on a Feeder

Birds in a Bush, and: Birds on a Feeder William Virgil Davis (bio) Birds in a Bush When the small bird landsin the bush he makes visiblethe other birds already there,half-hidden in the heavyrain-drenched leaves. The bird that has justarrived flutters its wingsto shake the rain from themperhaps, or perhaps it isa greeting, an announcement that he has returned. Theothers flutter their wingsas well so that the whole bushbegins to shake. Then, inno more than a moment, they lift off together and fly. [End Page 33] Birds on a Feeder A flurry of flapping, wingsand wings. At first there aremostly small birds, sparrows,but then there is a red-headedwoodpecker and a mediumsizeddarker one that I don'timmediately recognize. Thereare also a pair of smaller ones,black, with white, lattice-likeladders climbing their backsand wings. They must beanother species of woodpeckersince they have small red spotson the backs of their heads.The larger woodpecker pecksat the sparrows and drivesthem away. Then a crow cruisesin and all the others fly off.None of them eats much at anyone sitting but they returnagain and again to find thefeeder, as if for the first time. [End Page 34] William Virgil Davis william virgil davis's most recent book of poetry is Dismantlements of Silence: Poems Selected and New. His first, One Way to Reconstruct the Scene, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize. His poetry has been published widely worldwide.