Susan Vinson
Poems
after Ruth Stone
When you come back to me
it will be crow time
and flycatcher time
- Ruth Stone, “Poems”
When you come back to me
it will be hummingbird time
and mockingbird time,
with rising choruses of cicadas
beyond the yucca plants.
The ground will be powdered,
cracked, and inviting
drifting seeds, brittle weeds.
The hummingbirds, their iridescent
bodies, whirring
toward the red blossoms;
distancing, ruby-throated;
squeaking and flashing
And on the ground
I find you stilled, stunned
the stain-glass poppy shining from the window.
In the warmth of my hand
I feel your warmth.
Resting the tip of your beak
in a shallow lid of sugar water –
Revived – you lift and dart,
returning to hover.
Susan Vinson lives in South Central New Mexico with her husband of 41 years, 2 young dogs, and a 17-year-old cat. Their three grown children live nearby, along with 7 grandchildren. This is her first published poem.