tree with brunch and green leaves during sunset

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com


Which came first, birds or people?

Were there songs in the trees before 
houses and paths between neighbors?

When this was just limestone and tufted primeval moss, 
at the birth of new birdsong, practiced trills emerged 
from the canopies of beech forests, afar from distant firs

Call and response, coo and reply, 
was there yet another about to answer
the searching cry, to refrain the melody, 
to embellish harmony, to complete the haunting
interval?

The flutter of these first wings
grips the heart outside of time

Whistlers in strong winds,
did they love the sun 
and the morning
as much 
as we?  

So busy making nests then, 
though the need for shelter was itself
brand new

And there will be time enough to kill today,
and there will be eons to burn

Even now

Which will last longer, birds or people?

Chagall 2020