march madness
when I got to the tiny house
I was greeted by Elsa and Lily
they are backyard chickens
whose tinier house is next to mine
they did not invite me in but
saw to it that I found my place
this morning they were busy
as I stepped out to greet my host
who was giving the girls a snack
Elsa and Llily lost interest and
moved to things more interesting
under the oak full of new leaves
then they quit looking down
and looked up into the tree and
the branch a foot above them
and they took turns jumping flat-
footed—not flying—beaks up
grabbing bit of green growth
as one who has never had much
of a vertical leap and who has
probably sold chickens short on
both intelligence and athleticism
I stood corrected for jumping
at unfounded fowl conclusions
if a chicken can jump for breakfast
maybe there is hope for us all
I may start practicing my jump shot
Peace,
Milton
you made me smile… also – so nice to see you earlier this week
I’ve never before considered the athleticism of chickens. Thanks for giving us another amusing, gentle way of looking at the world.