About Marriage
Don't look me in wedlock, I want marriage,
an encounter.
I told you about the green light of May
a veil of quiet befallen the downtown park,
late Saturday afternoon, long shadows and
cool air, scent of new grass, fresh leaves,
blossom on the threshold of abundance
and the birds I met there, birds of passage
breaking their journey, three birds ,
each of a different species: the azalea-breastfed
with round points, dark, the brindle, merry,
mouse gliding one, and the smallest,
golden as gorse and wearing a black
Venetian mask and with them the three
Doucette hen-birds feathered in tender,
lively brown.
