Bluebirds back early
in January
bright blue males flitting from
fencepost to fencepost as
I run along the road
sometimes they get lost
in the sky
Gray day in February
golden eagle streaks downward
snow flies like a puff of smoke
as eagle slams into raven
then lays flat on its kill
guarding it from me
Chickadee climbs the pine walks
out on a branch
upside down and turns its head
For a long time I hear the sandhill cranes
but can't find them
croaking voices far off and high
then I see the loose-knit flock
and I look away
now they are invisible
but I still hear them
Redtail hawk circling circling
circling circling
circling
directly overhead
Equinox is hawk's cycle of power
creativity and vision
Last day of March killdeer
cries out in a blizzard distant
somewhere down by the frozen creekbed
the water is already flowing
Soon there will be mallards
paired on the ponds