Monday, June 12, 2006

King of the Yard

In Mesa, Arizona,
there is a walled-in back yard,
owned by a Costa Hummingbird.
He feeds at his feeder,
sits in his trees,
watches diligently for encroachers.
He chases the female hummer
out of the yard
several times an hour.

When the light catches his dark head
it flashes brilliant purple.
He's beautiful, and ever watchful.

I was amazed,
as I met this tiny despot,
how similar he was to the breed
of hummers we have in the east.

Same zoom, same watchful turning of the head,
same attitude of scarcity
and greed.

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