We are missing birds
So many birds
Millions
Tens of millions
Billions
Perhaps
Perhaps billions
We live without them
Not noticing the silence
Not noticing the empty skies
Hearing the occasional
Song, we are
Delighted by that bird
Maybe by the answer of another
We seldom notice
All of the missing
The millions
The tens of millions
The billions, perhaps
That have never flown
That were never hatched
That were lost
As we spread across the world
With shotguns and curiosity
And a desire for our fields
To go unvisited
By the birds, the flocks of birds
The millions
The tens of millions
Perhaps billions
The waste we have laid
Is silent
PWS 2023.02.11
Six Notebooks 