waiting
grackles descend & groom the grass with
squawks while inches below worms
worm deeper in desperation or maybe
that's just me inflicting emotion on
instinct & hunger but whatever drives
this black plague across the yard drives
others, too: sparrows, wrens, & finches
thrum the ground in morning turns
beneath the baleful eyes of squirrels
gone dumb & waiting for winter snows
to come & quiet the hiss & cackle, trill & song,
waiting for the cracking of a mirror-silent dawn