The Naturalist


		Mady stares out the window
			grey juncos against the snow
			flit back and flit ground
			forth and flit flit to
				feeder   the lilac
			here!		no, here!

		Mady watches
		unmoving
		paws up on the window still

		she can do this for hours

		I conclude
		she's making some sort of study

		or maybe waiting
		for the pattern to repeat
		knowing until then
		new things can still be learned

		things juncos can't know

		I watch her watching
		consider how to study her

		at which she
		flaps her ears up into a spin
		her brown eyes on me
			don't push the analogy

			I'm not

			up to her level

		she turns back
		you see? like this:

					just

							watch