Just because a dog or a cat or even a hen
doesn’t know how old it is
doesn’t mean it’s not that old.
Every creature moves along
the treadmill of time at its own pace,
most insects hurrying along,
while the tortoise lumbers under its armor.
Many do not look their age
but sometimes you can tell—
take that ancient sparrow
barely moving along as if on crutches.
But what about this crow
on a fence post by the roadside?
No telling how old he is.
Today could be his birthday
for all we know, and who’s to say
that perching on a fence post
is not a fine way to celebrate a special day?
My next one’s still months away
but when it finally rolls up to the door,
I will remember that crow
of a certain age and join him
on another fence post down the road,
showing off my blue-black feathers,
my shiny head always swiveling
over a field of flowering potatoes
and under an immense silvery sky,
as one car comes and goes,
then another from the other direction.