I found myself, on my last trip, reading my favorite Mary Oliver poem where she speaks of 'green mosses, being so many, are as good as brawny'. Yes! No! is one of my many favorites, and she inspired me that day to write of Northern Shrikes (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/id). These are birds I'm comfortable with wandering the boreal bogs and their visits are always magical experiences. They make an impression. Both my apologies and thanks to Mary Oliver for the inspiration.
Shrikes
Evergreen sentinels stoic as
Mosses crowd and gape
Absorbing sound, swallowing light
Their world undiminished
Except for the buzz
The hum the roar of
Tiny winged tyrants
Feasting, taunting, tasting
A moment, a movement, a surprise
Low swoop to spruce followed
In a breath by a second
Dark gray masses flank
A squawk, a lilt, a hello
Curious and bold
Eyes meet flummoxed and sizing
Me up from their virtuous stem-stoop
Why am I here? Queried
Questions I cannot answer
I stand silent and blinking and away
They flap together in the green
Vibrant world
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