Bird Watching

by James Babbs

I see blueblack feathers
on the backs of the blackbirds
as they strut and flutter
their way
across my backyard and
I listen to
the noises they make
sounding almost angry and
sometimes
when I’m standing near the window
watching them
they spread their wings and
puff up their bodies
rising up
without leaving the ground
screeching at the other ones and
I wonder
if this is suppose to be
some kind of warning or
maybe
an admonishment
for something
one of them did wrong
but I don’t know
that much about birds
I just like watching them
from time to time and
these are some of the things I see