but red-winged blackbirds trill what sounds
suspiciously like joy. Their migrating
cousins linger longer at my feeder
while honeybees and butterflies swarm
my wild flowers. Two rabbits roost
in the road like complacent mourning doves,
watchful only for coyote or hawk.
I have never heard such a plenitude of crickets,
seen so many fireflies, their come-hither signals
sparking up the night. In my little corner
of this vulnerable planet, the human invasion
is paused and wildness is making a comeback.
CJ Muchhala’s poetry has appeared most recently in Fresh Fish: Textile Artists and Poets Explore Underwater Life, Jerry Jazz Musician, Poeming Pigeon: From Pandemic to Protest, and Thimble Literary Magazine. She is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee and lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin.
Portage Magazine 