Lilliputian Sparrows

a poem Inspired by GiaB prompt #20: animalia

Squirrel and male cardinal eat discarded seed side by side, unafraid, under birdfeeder in dogwood tree. Female house sparrow from a flock of 20 feeds her fledgling on a branch. The flock of sparrows lands under the feeder on the ground, under the dogwood surrounding the squirrel. Squirrel is unfazed. They all munch on the seed on the ground. Squirrel is giant surrounded by pygmy sparrows on the island of Lilliput an Animalia Gulliver’s Travels tale. The giant turns to run up the tree startling the pygmy sparrow flock. They all burst into sudden simultaneous flight, rise as one in a burst of noisy feathers, then all float down onto a split rail fence. In the sun, on the fence, the flock sits for a pastoral portrait before scattering off down the street.

~~ Rhonda Marrone 5/2021

Thank you to Carolyn Hastings for tagging me in the GiaB challenge. Although I know I missed the deadline to submit to the challenge I want to make sure to acknowledge that I was inspired to write this poem by this prompt: