Friday, November 14, 2025

A Finch

                  1.


bounces under leaves, across branches. 

A changing wind, unpredictable, different.


2.


Three women and a man in t-shirts saunter 

the plaza’s paths. Quiet and reflective.

Their backs, arm pits, and chests wet.


Slightly bent back, florid hair, a woman climbs

stairs with little effort though lots of attention. 


She may remember when she and her boyfriend 

sat in the shade here under encinos and kissed, 

a taboo broken not long before.


3.


From the avenue, a siren competes with chirps. 

Children turn cartwheels on rough sand 

by a dry fountain.


4.


A man, early thirties, races up a crowded 

street boxes in hand: out of my way, I’m in a hurry


His face bursts with tension. His nervous hands

fail to open his truck’s lock. Once, twice, three times … 


Finally. He gets in, starts the vehicle. Shriek of tires. 

He almost clips a family car leaving the grocery store. 


5.


A magpie flies to the ground and settles 

like sunshine, its feathers a bit ruffled.


David-Clark Knowlton

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