Birds become leaves
without green that sit
behind sunlight not
moving, they sing
to be heard, not seen,
birds on twigs, legs
knobbed as twigs are
at their bend before
leaves come out,
show up yellow in
summer sun, they cover
bird wings that stretch
out to fly up,
catch air before
it falls in rain on
feathers vermilion,
cerulean, vibrating like
water over rocks those
colors gleam, not like
leaves unless there’s rain
that drips off tips, to
give away the silence
heard as birds fluff
out feathers in rain
behind leaves,
where they are still
unseen, leaves with
birds in sunlight as rain
drops from legs as
knobbed as twigs,
they move to shower
unseen no longer.
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