Bird Watching

source

City sounds

Urban birdsong

A cacophonous May canvas

"Shoe shine! Shoooooe shine! Shooooooe shiiiine!"

sings a gray feathered bird

his capped head bent over

his springtime work

"Needa fat bitch! Oooooh, I needa fat bitch!"

another's shrill chirp distracts

passersby

Pigeons peck at the sidewalk

for crumbs

A small brown bird lands

on my shoulder

"Gotta minute? Gotta minute?"

he chirps in my ear

I pause to listen

Lost nest, hungry babies

Feeling the pull of the crowd

I almost brush him off then

consider the $35 box of gourmet donuts

tucked under my own wing

Give him money for food

and a little more for his family

Then watch him fly away.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Tuesday Platform

Echo House

Welcome to Echo House
The walls are voices
Screams of injustice
Cries of despair
Lost souls comprise
the halls
Come in
Have a bowl of empty
We choke on it every day
We have so much nothing
we are drowning in it
There is always room for more
Stay a while
Bring your shame
your disappointment
your hopelessness
We will nurture them
Leave your dignity
at the door
Should you keep it with you
be warned
The cat will hunt it down
and play with it like a mouse
until she grows bored
and kills it.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Tuesday Platform

Debris

image from lifeisacookie

Downtown Baltimore
Homeless man sleeps on concrete
His blanket, the Sun

Snaky hair, don't look!
That yellowed newsprint, age or...?
Smell of sweat and beer

Rusted chain link fence
Claims paper stolen by wind
To join the debris

submitted for Haiku Challenge, Day 19