Cute little creatures so beautiful and sweet
Come to my deck and bring friends to eat
It’s one giant leap and off the window he ricochets
Claws hang as the seed feeder sways
Eating all the seeds he can get
One at a time he pulls them out
Three seconds it’s shelled and in his mouth
He sits there all day stretched over the top
Eating sunflower seeds until they run out
His friends hog the rail and bird feeder too
When I look out the window I think it’s the zoo
With no fear of us or our continuous knocking
He continues what he’s doing
While the feeder is rocking
I holler and shout and hiss and growl
But nothing would phase them
He was not beguiled
I got out the soakers and filled them with water
Shooting streams at them hiding is great fun for granddaughter
With three on hand I kept them running
But when I turned around they kept on coming
I tried throwing cucumbers as they ran through the yard
But my aim was no good and I threw out my arm
Young little ones want to go to the top
Climbing up the window chewing the stop
They jump and they claw and scratch and pry
But only the old ones can learn to fly
I finally gave up after much consternation and fuss
When they chewed on the windows I finally had enough
The seed feeder came down the rail feeder is empty
For the rest of the summer I have no empathy
Now I smile when I see them come by
And hope they disappear before winter is nigh
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Roth Poetry 