Sparrow likes hanging around handbags and shoes
waiting for the flecks of cured meats and truffle infused
breads to fall from the fingers of those above.
Sparrow was born under the restaurant eves
where cake crumbs snowed down on her daily.
Sparrow waits for days for the magpie man with his
white string tails to unnest the tables and set the places
for the people to come and drop the crumbs from the linen sails.
When no one appears, Sparrow’s hunger drives her away.
She must dig deep to access some country birding ways.
Sparrow learns to quit its flitting among feet and listen to the
aphids and other hairy moving things give their location away.
She sticks her beak in the dirt and eats the clay crusted flesh whole.
While dreaming of showers of seed-crusted crackers
sparrow wonders why she has never tried this kind of birding before.
‘City Sparrow’ was featured as part of the Irish Embassy Belgium, An Irish Garland series in December 2020 and was published in the anthology, Local Wonders,Dedalus Press.
(Credit : MohitKumar22)