Varied Thrush

Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush
The freezing rain has pushed them
Down into the valley with the rest of us
Flushed
From the comfortably lush forest floor
They draw their bows across
Serrated edges of musical saws and crush
The frigid, sharply pointed hearts of icicles like us

Crush, crush, crush, crush, crush, crush, crush, crush
Crush, crush, crush
Crush, crush, crush, crush, crush, crush, crush
Crush, crush, crush

Swish! swish!
The Osprey hovers seeking fish
The glassy pond displays the menu
But won't serve the dish
To birds who wish
To linger when the air turns cold
Defying pressure
To defer to Cackling Geese and Western Gulls

Wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, wish
Wish, wish, wish
Wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, wish, wish
Wish, wish, wish

Who doesn't wish they could begin to leave?
Who doesn't wish they could
Believe in letting something end?
We have these wishes
But we're hung up on a superstitious
Focus on the family
We see in Collared Doves
With love much stronger than we probably
Should ever hope for ours to be

Are we a "we are" today?
Will we be a "we will be" tomorrow?
Were we a "we were" already long ago?
We don't know what price makes sense to pay
So we settle for indebted sorrow
Never knowing we could dine and
Dash into that nullifying snow

Thrash! thrash!
The so-called trash birds taking baths
Betray their cuteness
In the recklessness with which they lash
Their lustrous feathers
Petroleum with flecks of ash
In an unseasonable puddle glaciating fast

Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash
Freeze, splash, splash, splash
Freeze, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash
Freeze, splash, splash, splash

Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Listen to the Varied Thrush
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!
Hush! hush!