Two, Watching by Martha Christina

The male robin who
appears at the base
of the feeder, doesn’t
sing, and shows no
interest in the spillage
of sunflower seeds.

He worries a worm
out from under
a budded daffodil,
then hops onto
the common fence
and faces the window
of our neighbor’s shed.

A friend has told me
a robin saw his reflection
in her dining room window,
and threw himself at it,
territorial and protective
of the nest and its eggs.

This robin makes
no aggressive moves;
makes no moves at all.
He sits as I sit:
silent,
transfixed,
watching.



Martha Christina is a frequent contributor to Brevities. Longer work appears in Innisfree Poetry Journal, Naugatuck River Review, earlier postings of Red Eft Review, and is forthcoming in Crab Orchard Review and *82 Review. She has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press).