Birds ‘n’ Friends

(Vermilion Warbler, Townsend Warblers, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Mountain Chickadee, Roosevelt Elk)

Along the northern Pacific coast
above wave-swept rocky shoals
where bones of old trees lay scattered on dark beaches,
I imagine a forest so green it glows.

Wisps of moisture-laden clouds leave heavy drops of dew on every branch, leaf, and needle.
Thick air carries smells of mosses and mushrooms and wormy wood that turn old life to new.
Paths laid by hoofed and furred feet weave through this fecund wilderness, tying together dark burrows, grassy beds, and leafy nests.
Along the byways, busy and sometimes desperate lives spend each moment to thrive and persist.

In a small clearing on a hill overlooking the lush land,
a great elk stands—watching, sniffing, listening.
I’ve never heard an elk call out, but some say they bugle.
I hear that sound and know he is calling friends.

Alight with color, small birds come
to flit among the grooved yet smooth branches of his stately antlers.
For a moment they pose,
then scatter to finish their day’s chores.