Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Diane GlancyJune 30, 2022

The woodpecker on my gutter sounds like groundfire.
A buzz-saw attack.
An invasion in the eaves.
I look to you, Lord of provision.
Fill my tank with gasoline.
Reload my hope, Jesus.
Bless the birds of sorrow that twitter in my head.
My glory and the lifter of my head.
The birds chirp at the feeder.
Their water bowl is full.
They drink. Jump in.
They splatter bathing in their water bowl.
They set mines along my gutter.
They say their prayers.
They eat safflower. Sunflower. Dried cranberry. Flax.
Peanut. Millet. Hulled pumpkin seed.
Pistachio. Dried raisin.
I eat sugar cookies for breakfast.
I should eat bird seed.
From the window I see one bird chasing others away.
What can I do?
They rush at one another.
Little spit balls.
Spit wads.
Little bullies.
They minister to me.
I see the turbulence of the world in the feeder.
The squabble over territory.
They make a battlefield of my yard.
They jackhammer the eaves.
Squatters. Ungrateful.
I will give them the bill for their seed.

 

The latest from america

In my work as both a catechist and mental health professional, I have seen the impact of spiritual abuse firsthand.
Paul FaheyJune 11, 2025
A Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinJune 11, 2025
Who are we as a country if we are unable to recognize the same aspirations demonstrated by today’s immigrants that once defined the immigrants of generations gone by?
Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing, signaling he is continuing one of Pope Francis’ most controversial foreign policy decisions.