Upon a Bed of Petals

On a pile of fragrant petals, I found a small bird nest. It had fallen from the plum tree And settled there to rest. The blue eggs were all unbroken, Petals had softened fall. Mother bird was loudly chirping, Hovering over all. I dared not touch the fallen nest To leave a human smell. I merely looked into its depths To see that all was well. Pushing bright petals around it To hide it from plain view, I gave a wave to mother bird And said, “It’s up to you.” I did not chance that way again For a full month or more. I stopped to check upon the nest That had been there before. The eggs were gone, the fallen nest Was lying all askew. I worried that bad had happened To the small eggs of blue. And then I heard a happy sound And spied the mother bird. A message passed from her to me Without a single word. I took her song as a thank you For my feeble attempt To guard her nest from predators Who’d treat it with contempt. There were four balls of downy fluff On the branch right by her side. I stopped to admire her little brood, Then went on with my ride.