Birds have gathered again.
They talk in the trees.
What they are saying I can’t say
The cats the homeless cats
Sit in the sun to get warmed
They see me go outside
Expect me to feed them like my aunt Nena does All twelve of them someone abandoned on Longview Road
I check on my sage plant not long ago planted
It is doing fine
I look at the sky
Clouds are moving in
Like horses grazing
I try to picture in my mind
Children walking to school in Stockton
The Metro Buses rushing by
The traffic thick as syrup
The horns the loud music
The homeless ones
Moving about on the sidewalks
Pushing grocery carts with all their belongings The houses the buildings the wires the signs
And I find I don’t miss that
No comparison with the picture before me
Golden leaves asleep on the moist earth
The countryside the chickens the roosters the cats
Two little Mexican boys in the yard outback Looking for something to play with
The broken down cars the dogs the hawks
The spirits must have guided me here
To this broad place of contemplation
That I may find myself again In the shadows of this world
Where birds speak that I may listen
That my eyes may be opened
That my heart flow again in the rhythm of simplicity.
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Birds have gathered again.
