Visitor on fire escape

January 13, 1982

Suddenly perched on the edge of my bars a small gray bird with scarlet head trilled a bravura capturing other creatures in me: half out of his lair my fox listened sharp nose high, even the mole prudently underground, inhabited sky; as though remembering my leopard stopped his tearing at me, I gazed into eyes whose fury melted away. Out of cages we moved into that song, leaving escapes, attacks. One being hung in those notes - but the bird sensed my stare and was gone. Slowly my creatures began to move apart