By Hannah Mikesell, age 13
You sit by the window
watching the soft delicate birds flit back and forth.
They come to the feeder and grab a sunflower seed
in their shiny black beaks
then dash back into the hedge.
I hear a tapping of seed against branch
as they crack open the shell to get the treat inside,
then back to the feeder they go.
All day, back and forth
with just one seed in their tiny beaks.
Who knows how many trips they take,
how much energy it requires
to constantly go back and forth to the feeder?
And to come to the birdbath and drink
just drops of water at a time.
You are the one who buys the seed
selecting only the best kinds.
You are the one who chooses the feeder
to fill it and hang it on a decorated stake in the yard.
You fill a jug, full of warm water
then take it out to the birdbath, filling it to the brim,
plug it in so it will not freeze.
You come inside.
One day that will be me, filling the birdbath and feeding the birds.
One day it will be me,
just me, the snow and the birds.
Following in your footsteps,
doing what I learned from you.
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