It's Still Life

Traveling Music for a Blackbird

It’s always been so

a cat,
dogs,
a fox, sometimes,
squirrels,
mostly birds

some need more than I can give
some only need to know

morning
light through tulips
daffodil seedheads swelling

I had not slept well

a blackbird
near the ferns
still as stone

I warmed a towel
a dish of water

wrapped

she stayed quiet
while I hummed
old traveling songs

for her
the moon never set

her eyes
cooling to wax

or a cloud
passing overhead

Written for Writers’ Digest Poem-a-Day Challenge for April 2026. Prompt word: set