Syncopated Summer
The perched hummingbird scratches with his fine toe
A spot just above his eye; turn of the head: Ah. Just so.
Then off to crush his enemy, that other hummer,
And knock a nuthatch off a branch for good measure.
In a swift turn of events, a fig beetle wins the battle
Over the mulch for a burrow, while the kangaroo paw
Decides to continue blooming indefinitely, impossibly.
A young crow wags the power line like a jump rope—-rough
Landing—-and two lemon-yellow butterflies joust over
Said kangaroo paw (pink), presumably in dispute for
The right to make more lemon-yellow butterflies.
The red squirrels can’t decide who rules the coral tree.
Barbaric, yes: All this going in wakes and wakes of tragedies,
So many tiny victories, defeats. Struggle itself, a matter of scale.