Bird family

When we're out watching the cranes fly south, the woman across the street comes out and asks us What are those? We tell her, excitedly, those are sand hill cranes!, Oh, she says, and then goes inside. Hers is not a bird family.

Our house is filled

With birds.

We are

A bird family.

We watch the starlings

Lined up

On the telephone wire.

We listen to the sand hills

Veeing

Overhead

South to New Mexico.

We are a bird family

Birds inside

And out.

We even have birds

In the bathroom

So we don’t forget

We are

A bird family.