Revelations

Flagrant summer strips off
and the hidden places are shown,
collected bunches of warm things,
dry twigs, torn fur, used feathers and
a plastic bag or two,
floated from the nearby grocery.

Beast and bird, by nature knowing how,
built their nests secret, high,
out of sight,
safe against dark times, yet

no matter how innate construction skill,
all hopeful gathered homes are
make-shift, temporary,
not always to be
concealed by easy trees,
whose rich green
drops as bold patterned and bright coloured skirts
down around bony knees,
gets covered by a soft white.

After a time, in its turn,
winter surrenders that ermine coat,
exposes last season’s underbrush
where decay’s ancient tongue licked,
until heartbeat’s freshness could re-ignite,
flicker,
glow again seen.