Time To Hear (Birdsong) Poem by Frank Bana

The bird calls to protect the earth
She sings under the kitchen roof
In a magical, hypnotic trill
In quiet crystal notes of truth

Even if we cannot name the bird
We can set our day's concerns aside
None of us are innocent now
Of making it harder for wings to fly

Are we to say which of the species
Among us are worth less or more
A birdsong calls to protect the earth
It is in our power, to act for her

It's time to care while hope is there
It's time to hear before hope is lost
Birdsong calls to heal the earth
To repair what damage can be reversed.

A blue note sounds and we give pause
A new note skims across the earth
The bird calls us to tend her roof
While our neglect can be reversed.


[with thanks and acknowledgment to letter-writers in the New York Times: Jeff Fischer, Matthew Schenker and Paul Smaldino]