In foul weather, birds hang out, a menagerie
of gulls, crows and Canada geese, on this grassy knoll
above Puget Sound. While sheets of liquid
wash the trees, crows clown in the leafless crowns,
every upwelling their delight. The gulls face away
from prevailing wind like a cloud of wind socks.
Some hunker down, tuck their bills under a wing
to wait it out. Geese graze endlessly on green tufts
of grass, elegance multiplied until beauty
becomes a burden, too many mouths and slop,
eating always moving the green stuff
through and out their gut. Along the road
crows tilt their heads, drink from rivulets
funneling down the blacktop while the gusts of wind
keep shaking the cars, hoping to dislodge them.
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