Where Four Countries Meet - March 17, 2024

one mockingbird crosses a boundary

causing another to take chase

those two cross into a third’s territory

the fourth bird can’t just watch

abandons his post   joins the pursuit

and becomes the last daredevil

in a banking screeching dogfight  

each bird in turn attacking

another in an aerial bombardment

that spins beyond the four

backyards and out of sight

when the dogs and I return

from the walk we hear that

sleepy afternoon silence

the papery flutter of leaves

and see a single gray feather

under the huge eucalyptus

that grows over the point

where four countries meet