On Any Given Day
despite all else, delight can swoop
down unannounced. Like these black-capped
chickadees—their bright, staccato calls
insisting on existence. The pizzicato
footfalls ferrying their feathered frames
to a geography of sprinkler-fed rivulets.
A terrain of diminutive lakes.
The way they splash, preen, toil—
plucking worms, beetles, seeds
from the saturated soil.
Despite all else, the beauty
of that greed. The marvel
of those beating hearts.
*
Laura Ann Reed taught modern dance and ballet at the University of California, Berkeley prior to working in the capacity of leadership development trainer at the San Francisco headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her work has been widely anthologized and published in literary journals. Her chapbook, Shadows Thrown, is scheduled for publication on February 26, 2023 by Sungold Editions. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Laura resides with her husband in western Washington.
