Sunday morning, late
again, we stand motionless
at the front window, car keys
and cold coffee in hand.
My daughter calls it bird church,
this chorus of feathers in tan,
black, brown, and white,
wings close enough to touch,
reverent gathering of seed
after seed between notes.
A male cardinal places pips
in a plump female’s bill
with such tenderness as to seem
miraculous, while squirrels
forage beside finches
smaller than a child’s hand.
I could check the time,
but we are already in attendance.
–
Emily Patterson is the author of The Birth of Undoing (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2025). Her work appears in The Christian Century, North American Review, CALYX, The Penn Review, SWWIM, The Shore, and elsewhere. Emily is a curriculum designer for Highlights for Children and lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio.