Golden

 

A golden crowned sparrow 

stole the thunder

from my remarkably annoying alarm clock

for the second time this week.

My feathered friend’s

descending three-note song

awakened and arrested me

with the insistence of memory,

Sounds and flavors plucked straight 

from simple moments of childhood

can bring me to my knees. 

This bird

with his comforting and familiar refrain 

brought a morning message 

of peace and gratitude 

from a back yard in Red Hill

where my wonderfully stubborn Poppop 

built a high-rise apartment 

on an impossibly tall metal pole.

It has been nearly 50 years 

since I last heard that song. 

But somehow 

it still feels like 

sunshine

and comfort

in my bones.