The birds huddle low
in the brush of the wetland
delaying their morning departure.
You caused this, they
want to say but cannot,
knowing we are linguistically challenged.
What they mean is that we
have robbed them
of so much of their habitat,
carving out small areas
as a balm for our souls,
or that this shockingly cold
morning, they know, is
a product of human activity,
as much as some of us
choose to continue to deny it.
And, they would add, they
have no option while we
always did and will.