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