Everything All At Once - barbara armstrong

[Lawrence Robinson]

Everything  All At Once     


In a bed of barn straw 
a solitary egg emerges…
a universe intact
beneath the speckled cape
of our young red hen
                                                                  w h i l e   explosive news
                                                                  breaks  here in the West
                                                                  The doves of Peace have
                                                                  languished in the Middle East!
At the feeder
a ring-necked dove
cracks the black seed of a
sunflower    shucks the hull
savors the sweet interior
                                                                  w h i l e   aid workers in 
                                                                  the wastelands of war are
                                                                  themselves  in jeopardy
                                                                  of starvation

acorn woodpecker enters the bird bath
slaps his wings in jubilation
Exuberant as a Cajun fiddler   he showers
deck and railings    rainwater  spattering
prisms of optimism everywhere

                                              w h i l e  hawk
                                              unfurls substantial wings
                                              dominates the air   shrieks a warning
                                              flares its ruddy tail   circles once
                                              then vanishes

                                                                                    
	- barbara armstrong