Four Poems

Taxonomy

Dusky junco, dusky junco, jay,
Towhee, testy towhee, testy towhee go
Swallow, swallow, swallow, swift,
Culture, give me cultured kite. Oh no,
Carnivorous shrike, no, not the shrike!
I do, the sparrow, oriole.
Eh, ee, ah, oo oriole.


Field Guide to Dementia

To see you is egret,
No, red kite high
On a thermal,
Holding your hand
Is wagtail, comfort.

I think some cuckoo's laid
Its egg of dark inside my head.

Words have migrated,
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