We live each other’s death
and die each other’s life,
borrowing a cold flame
from sycamore in early leaf.
This morning, after heavy rain
the street erupts with birds:
grackles sharpen swords
and cedar waxwings strip
the vines, declaring love and war.
With tail cocked, I guard the stoop
from strangers, ill-at-ease.
As sunlight strikes a wheel,
I think as Sulla thought??
hostis, host and enemy
to every sound that swells my throat.
From: http://cordite.org.au/poetry/candylands/mockingbird/
Date: 2005
By: Devin Johnston (1970- )