Outside your window
at the nursing home
a female cardinal opens
her beak like a nestling,
and the male who has landed
beside her at the feeder placed
to entertain you, feeds her
a single sunflower seed.
He does this repeatedly;
an action meant to win her
as a life-long mate. You
open your mouth for your
pureed dinner; I feed you,
spoonful by spoonful.
Martha Christina has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press). Her work appears in earlier issues of Red Eft Review, and recently in Star 82 Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Tiny Seed Journal’s Pollinator Project. Born and raised in Indiana, she now lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.
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