Early Spring Palette

 Early Spring Palette

There’s gold in the maple outside my window.

Finches vanish among the yellow-green buds, camouflage for a nugget of a bird.

No camo for them until fall, cardinals shine like Christmas ornaments in the green spruce,

proudly display their royal red robes for prospective mates.

Tannish wood thrushes look like wind-blown leaves as they rustle through a pile of them

to find their breakfast, their table manners lacking, but their morning song melodic.

Spring rains and mounting sun green the grass, and set a table of worms 

for the sunny-breasted robins, who, with their signature song, give thanks for a bountiful day.

Squirrels, grey and red, glean the leavings of birdseed, chase each other away from the grub,

and scurry away themselves as the white-tail deer appear to somehow lick-up the seeds.

Sky’s colors are grey, but that’s OK, as animals of wing, paw, and hoof color the spring world.