Ode To a Cockatiel

Ode to the Cockatiel You exasperate me. The most maddening creature To walk, Waveringly across the tabletop Drawn by an invisible wire To my bowl You stand On the tips of your claws Four scaly toes strain You peer Over the edge And take a nibble Of what’s inside. Did you like it, little bird? Your beak smiles As you climb, Perch on the rim of my bowl And with neat bites Eat my breakfast. And I wonder, Why do I keep you around, You have no manners. Sometimes I admire Your slender tail, Body the color of a storm cloud Head the color of the sun With two orange embers burning in your cheeks And the elegant, Filmy Swoop of crest. I pick you up Light enough to sit on my finger; I no longer marvel at that, Long ago becoming accustomed To the marvel living in my home, I take you and I scratch your head I feel the softness of your feathers Between my fingers I feel your skull And realize you are much more fragile Than you like to let on, You sweet bird, Resting your head on my thumb Trusting me completely. And then my thumb displeases you; You must attack it. Hissing and pretending to bite it And I smile At my Utterly confounding Cockatiel.