COWBIRDS
            Marcella Remund
                c. 199?
===========================

  The cowbird hen dumps
  a fat grey egg
  in the neighbor's nest
  while no one's home.
  She perches there, winded,
  preens a bit, then flies off
 to find the cock
  and make another egg.

  A rose-breasted grosbeak
  sails home, beak full of cricket,
  before her own eggs have cooled.
  She tucks, trims, weaves
  the frayed edges of the nest.
  She shivers tiny muscles
  to spread breast feathers
  over the eggs.

  When the chicks hatch,
  one is clumsy dull-brown,
  mouth wider, hungrier
  than the three pale chicks
  sharing the nest.
  He'll grow quickly;
  perhaps he'll toss the smaller
  chicks over the edge.

  The cowbird hen dumps
  another fat grey egg
  in a phoebe's nest, catches
  her breath, preens and fluffs,
  flies back to the cock.
  Cowbird hens are not
  exceptional; you'll find
  these mothers everywhere.


========
========