i’ve lived long
a desert denizen
surrounded
by saguaros
in lower elevations
than these northern hills
where wheat grasses grow
where pronghorn graze
& briefly
after i broke up the ice
in the bird bath
& returned indoors
my heartbeat fast as
a cactus wren’s wings
as i watched
a male cardinal
from my kitchen window
land on the feeder
hanging
from a bare branch
of the apple tree
a black sunflower seed
in his orange beak
he looked at me
for a moment
gave me
a head nod
& I nodded back
through the flakes
of a gently falling snow
