Envy

photo my own

I’m jealous of the cardinals
that huddle, shivering
within the shelter of my arborvitae
it’s a marvel to behold creatures
who keep such close company
with death

what must it be like to live
until the very moment you die
to simply fall out of the sky
an ember extinguished
a bright note, quelled
by a roving predator
or the…