Lookout Finch

scanning bushes
for any cattail twitches
before dining at the feeder
breakfast buffet
recently toppled by
feral cat’s paws

finches routed by
half a dozen pigeon
big-boys,  the size of
barred rock chickens, while
stealthy paws send them
skittering skyward

to roofs and into the trees
seeking a safe perch and
comforting anonymity
while feral pools of cats’ paws
ripple and flow, primordial ooze
in the hedgerow

–LE – 9/30/24