Two Cardinals

The distant sound of the waterfalls adds a
Softness to the still quietness of the woods

The forest’s breath smells much different here
Being constantly refreshed in the warm summer sun

Two cardinals quickly glide to
The shallow pool side of falls ahead

They anxiously dip their bright red bodies
Into the glistening calm water

One of them, the female, flies a short distance to
A smooth stone near the pool’s bank

Shaking the residual water off
She breaking the forest’s

Silence with her gentle voice
Her mate flies up to a low branch

On a tall hem fir tree
He flaps his wings and being a soliloquy

That begins the music of conversation
Between their other feathered brethren

But only his mate responds and meets him
On the branch. Their voices becomes entangled

In the concert of the changing music of conversation
Then, in the middle of the aria, they fly away

Leaving their fellow feathered musicians to
Continue the concert. But it’s for only a minute

Before the forest’s closes the breech
With silence, inviting the next event

 
by Bradley Thomas