Each Morning Before Dawn

Each Morning Before Dawn 


Each morning before the sunrise hits my eyes
I listen to a mockingbird quarrel with a squirrel
for the sunflower seeds inside the  feeder.

Robins,  pigeons, crows—
catch the yellow glint
then lift away when the sun breaks.

Just before sunset,  
every time I refill the hopper
I wait for their song.

but there is only my held breath
before the screech and claw
arrive.