A cardinal couple peck at the ground
The female departs carrying a leaf
To the obscure side of a shallow tree
Grackles and starlings browse promiscuously

A plant blooms called wisteria
That tightly grips oak sweetgum and lanky pine
Clustered lavender flowers of meretricious beauty
All cup and no wine

An earthworm drags its slow length along the sidewalk
That courses before the swelling lawns
Some a darker green thanks to the application
Of carefully calibrated chemicals

Bending double I thought to extend the worm’s life
But the abrasive sidewalk resisted my attempts
And the little being never moved
Once I had placed it in the grass

And when I stood up straight my brain
Gave me a head rush symptom of anoxia
My new medication warns
That dizziness might pose a hazard