Confession of a Bird Watcher

The windows are dressed in feathers where the birds have flown against

them,

then fallen below into the flowers where their bodies lie grounded, still,

slowly disappearing each day until all that is left are their narrow,

prehensile bones.

I have sat at my window now for years and watched a hundred birds

mistake the glass for air and break their necks, wondering what to do,

how else to live among them and keep my view.

Not to mention the sight of them at the feeder in the morning,

especially the cardinal in snow.

What sign to post on the sill that says, "Warning, large glass window.

Fatal if struck. Fly around or above but not away.

There are seeds in the feeder and water in the bath.

I need you, which is to say, I'm sorry for my genius as the creature inside

who attracts you with seeds and watches you die against the window

I've built with the knowledge of its danger to you.

With a heart that rejects its reasons in favor of keeping what it wants:

the sight of you, the sight of you."

Source: Interstate (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015)