From watching them in flight
I know that great egrets fly
with their hinge neck folded in
while Sandhill cranes extend theirs.

By listening carefully, I know
the cry of the male limpkin, his lower
than his female partner, while
the cry of the hawk only creates fear
in those who might be its prey, and
the male Cardinal shows
infinite patience calling out
for a mate who never arrives.
I can see and hear all of these
but I cannot begin to tell you why
for when I asked the birds, all
replied with a variation on
“that’s just the way things are,
but why do you want to know?”