Birds in Autumn

Under the eagle’s wing
The sky darkens early on the mountains
By mid-afternoon—
While you wait at the modern, urban zoo
For the feathers of the lesser Bird of Paradise
To show among the empty spaces
All the tantalizing, fluttering, darting motions
Of tanagers and thrush
Distract and absorb you—
Away at the river
The crying gulls swoop over the white waves
Before the harvest moon rises
And the owl of the field takes flight.