again this spring
there are robins
trying to build nests
on the skinny beams
of our balcony roof
in the heart of the city
that space is too narrow
my husband tells them
flapping his arms to
warn them off
they are obstinate
in their optimism
determined to remind us
that we are part of
the natural world
don’t be distracted
by those big brains
they sing
we are your cousins
and your shortsightedness
fouling our earth-nest
may kill us all
(More appropriately placed hummingbird nest pictured above is a painting done in 2019.)