The Baby Sparrow

A baby sparrow got caught in the rain
She lies on the pavement—the sidewalk
The Baby Sparrow

It’s humid now, the clouds are feather grey.
She opens one wing—it makes a sticky sound
Like a baby swallowing saliva.

She flutters. She accidentally sings.
A blade of light falls beside her—
We see that her eyes are auburn
Her red brown belly expands—
It’s hard to imagine something so solid looking as
a being that contracts, and as soon as we can’t imagine her ever moving,
She inhales.

She exhales and accidentally sings again.
The eye shaped leaves of the box trees glisten,
Catching light on them, rimmed by light thin as dust.

A light fft fft is heard in the distance—
The sidewalk carries the shadow of a young bird taking flight.