the last blackbird

the last blackbird even now, i’m not sure why i walked to the end of the avenue before sitting on the curb. one city bus marquee after another boasted that channel two news is best… until channel seven at six arrived with the next bus. at the end of the avenue blackbirds waited, watching near-empty sidewalks from a drooping wire. it was then i decided i would not leave the end of the avenue until the last blackbird had flown away. only one remained as darkness approached until finally it shuddered and fell to the ground, dead. i had never seen a bird die but i believe that’s why i walked to the end of the avenue before sitting on the curb… unsure about what to do with a dead blackbird, i waited for the channel two news team to arrive on the side of a city bus. turns out that when it comes to the little things —things that matter— none of the news teams cared much about blackbirds… or about an old man contemplating death while sitting on the curb at the end of the avenue with the last blackbird. tolbert