The Merlin app on my phone
heard
only a single dark-eyed Junco.
Nothing else.

My ears
heard
cars and trucks on the road beside my house,
distant heavy machinery, clanging and banging,
and a chainsaw
not far off.
No birds.

My imagination
heard
the trills and chatter of the woodland edge
during the dawn course of spring–
cedar waxings, red wing blackbirds,
yellowthroats, rose-breasted grosbeaks,
and more.
So many birds.

My imagination
heard
the silence of the woods and meadows
punctuated only by the murmuring wind in the trees,
bird calls,
animals scuttering in the litter
and water tumbling in a rushing creek.
Nothing more.

My heart
heard
the single Junco aching for the absent birds
and filled the space around it
with varied and myriad passerines
from my memory and my imagination.

May they not all
disappear.

Originally published by The Abstractaphy Initiative.