MOCKINGBIRD
            Michael R. Collings
                c. 6/15/93
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The Mockingbird / precarious
tenant
in our Apple / nests
grey in grey shadows on
four spattered eggs
Her eye / polished jet and
unblinking  / glistens
I push green apple nubs
aside to
watch

                She balances on powerlines,
                Shunning the air above our lawn;
                Beneath, we water, weed, nail
                A winter shutter to the wall.

My children / temporarily
mine
soon their own / hold
painful breath and anxious
peer among red-blushing apples
Four spattered eggs
glow blue satin in deep shade as
my children wait
for them to
hatch.


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