A Winter Buffet
January day
not a leaf left
on this skeleton
tree teeming
with sparrows
chirping and hopping
branch to branch
waiting for the deck
feeder to be free of
cardinals and jays
bickering for seed
while on the floor
four doves
stroll in silence
feasting on spilled
seed near the railing
where a fat squirrel
sits with its tail high
in a question mark
ready to dive
and scatter them all