Steph Rae Moran

Birdsong

Two birds on a branch with a hawk flying overhead. — *Birdsong* by Rachel Skinner (digital). Originally displayed at the Mission Viejo Library as part of the Mission Viejo Poetry + Art Collaborative (2023).

Birdsong

Steph Rae Moran

From the Mission Viejo Poetry + Art Collaborative (2023)

I pass an oak tree on my walk,
its rounded crown dense 
with the calls of spring birds.
Slowing, I peer through green leaves
to find several dozen 
Pacific-slope flycatchers settled
on the inner branches, 
small with yellow underbellies.
They remind me 
of the birds of Rhiannon,
and I wonder if their melody
will charm me as time 
slips by unnoticed.
It might prove restful 
to spend months, years even, 
captivated by birdsong 
without the weight of worry and sorrow.

Shaking my head to dispel these thoughts,
I look up to see the real danger: 
a red-tailed hawk 
floating,
waiting for the right moment
to pluck a bird (or maybe two)
from their perch. 
As I step closer to the tree,
an act of protection,
the flycatchers take wing— 
two, three, six at a time,
and spread out into the grassy field behind me.
Their music fades, leaving only the sound 
of rustling leaves in a delicate breeze.

Photograph of Birdsong by Rachel Skinner (digital) and “Birdsong” by Steph Rae Moran (poem) as originally displayed at the Mission Viejo Library as part of the Mission Viejo Poetry + Art Collaborative (2023).