On our walk in the woods
I saw a cardinal singing in a tree
and thought for sure it was you
saying goodbye-
something you had never done in life.
I wanted to remember it-
this beautiful bird and its song
and searched for it through the lens of my camera.
I couldn’t find it.
I pulled the camera from my eye and looked but it was gone.
Now, all I seem to see
are the shadows of birds.
I know them by shape
but cannot tell anything more
from what glides across the pavement while I walk.
I know that bird was you.
You, who became a shadow in our lives
and then left.
You, the shadow I’d recognize as familiar
but not quite family.
blue sky infinite 