Vox Populi
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Pamela Uschuk: Return of the Warbling Vireo
Deep in the oleanders’ dense thicket, a warbling vireo screams
for a mate, another migrant back from his long
trek from Mexico. He loves the green tango
of poison leaves keeping his slim gray body
safe from Cooper’s hawk, the snelled claws
of our local bobcat, my young dog, part dingo,
who could snatch him on the wing.
I understand his need, not
desperation but the urgency
etched in his DNA driving him to sing,
belting out his singular desire.
Late night going to dawn, I write verse
few will read. Like a leaf basket
hanging from a eucalyptus branch flexible as a guitar string, I am
pushed by the future’s howling mountain wind.
Hear me please, hear
me, the melodic vireo cries, hear me
tumbles time
from his lonely beak on fire,
Hear me Hear me Hear me
the wind pleads.
Copyright 2024 Pamela Uschuk
Pamela Uschuk’s many books include Refugee (Red Hen, 2022). She is the editor of Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts.
Vox Populi 
the green tango
of poison leaves
stunning images in this poem. Thank you
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“tumbles time
from his lonely beak on fire” as beautiful as it is soulful. Thank you Pamela Uschuk.
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Such a simple, pure & poignant poem…
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Simple pure lyricism. Song-like.
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your cry for the diminishing bird world. Tender, poetic, real, and power-laden. I’m glad to have read it. thank you for sharing. Poems like this should feather the world.
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Lovely sentiment, James. Thank you.
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Pam,
Thanks for channeling this bird for us today!
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Like all the best poems, I feel this one in my gut. Love it!
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Lovely poem, Pamela!
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Isn’t it, though?
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