A Sound of Love

During a spell of evening charm

clouds chase daylight’s dim  

and a ruffed-grouse rustles feathers

scooping wind for flight, lands

heavily onto a fallen trunk.

This paper birch once stood tall,

bleached tower of reflecting sun.

The grouse besets this majestic form,

selection precise in a special ritual –

let the drumming begin.

Taking a firm grip with clenched toes,

this partridge often referred to, as

“King of the North” begins

his journey of love; calling a mate.

Wings begin to beat, then vigorously,

a song of need, the staccato raising

as an echo from one end of this leafy

valley to the next.

Not far away, a female tilts her head,

squints briefly then tucking wings

tightly to her body, explodes toward

the sound of her amour.