earthbound

by Hazel Hall

when our father comes home he resumes a boyhood pleasure
dad builds an aviary beside the apricot tree & makes
nesting boxes to raise border fancies – soon
he buys new breeds – red factors & german rollers
they can hear sparrows in the blossoms chittering their
existence – sometimes dad’s canaries join in as if connecting
in a little choir– wild birds often fix their claws
on the aviary wires & peep inside – perhaps
they recognise the scent of carefully mixed seed or egg food
dad chooses names for his birds from characters
in western tv serials like gunsmoke & yancey derringer
he places leg rings on the fledglings as if in a medic’s tent
when he wins third prize at a show with baby bonanza
we are all airbound except our mother
who prefers birds to be visitors
that night after dad puts baby bonanza back
into the aviary he carefully places both third prize card
& ribbon on top of his tall boy

     then he climbs back into his own cage
     the one he never talks about
     the one we don’t know exists