A cardinal in my garden
calls to his mate
She answers him and flutters
to a white, wooden fence
where she alights
and waits for him
 
In turn, he pecks at the face
of a dried sunflower
and glides to her perch
He is bearing a seed in his beak
She opens her mouth
and he feeds her
 
For a moment I feel ashamed
I am an intruder
observing a private moment
between two lovers.

© by Carroll S. Taylor.
Used here with the author’s permission.