3 Poems
Nearsighted Birds
misjudge the size of faraway objects.
They swoop at dogs,
mistaking them for mice.
They dive at pigs,
mistaking them for worms.
Children drop pieces of bread,
but the nearsighted birds
descend upon their heads,
leaving the bread untouched.
Eventually, they give up flying
and spend the rest of their days
jabbing their beaks in the dirt
and getting plump.
They forget their former lives
in the air, but now and then,
when the flies circle above them,
they shake their limp wings.
Of course, these are not flies,
but the farsighted birds,
who are shivering
miles above them, trying
to find their way home.
