As the network of leafless trees’ branches become frosted with fluff,
Pure, soft, flakes of snow float tenderly to the blanketed earth’s stuff.
An ebony shadow against a white, wintry sky,
A “trapeze artist” balanced upon a power-line wire.
Action begins with his feathered, flapping frill,
Joined by his loud “caws,” in contrast shrill,
Interrupting and disturbing the peaceful, quiet still.
A young worker carries a canvas sack of folded news, trudging along,
Dropping bundles between each of the house’s doors, with a whistling song.
Daily, the bird swoops down, in an arch, near the carrier’s ears,
Teasing the person of very few years.
Challenging him (her) to duck down, in fear,
Undaunted, the worker continues the route,
As the blackbird flies elsewhere about.
The red squirrel scolds the bird from an unsteady branch,
Then, zig-zaggedly scurries to a much, bolder, squawk-ridden stance.
Then, unintentionally, disrupting sparrows at their feed,
The blackbird cluelessly, disregards the little birds’ needs,
Returning back to his perch, full of greed,
While he contentedly and noisily munches on seeds.
By Valerie J Laidlaw
grmaval 