Ode To A Cardinal Poem by B. V. Dahlen

Upon the feeder flaunting red
And gleaming, he purloins his seed.
His mate below on crumbs is fed
The remnants of his hunger’s greed.

The scarlet crest upon his head
Shoots quickly cross my window view.
My eyes dart to engage instead
A warbler of another hue.

Oh ruby fire within my sight,
Oh crimson flash across my lawn,
Your beauty brings my heart delight,
And brightens even rays of dawn.

Against the winter landscape grey,
On flaming wings so quickly spent,
He swiftly shows a fleet ballet,
And vanishes with steep ascent.

Or perched upon a budding limb
In springtime, brighter than the bloom,
That tips the still emerging rim,
And never rivals his costume.

His cerise plumage brightens days
That melancholy might devour,
And watching for his flaring blaze
Does my despairing heart empower.