| Early in the morning,Just before the sun creeps up,
 Birds gather in a tree near the house,
 All tweeting and screeching
 In their different languages,
 Until some unseen signal
 Launches them into the sky.
 Each alone
 But all together,
 They perform a fluttering fandango
 To honor the new day.
 Then, descending into another tree,
 Evicting their neighbors
 Into their own aerial sun salutation,
 On and on they go,
 Synchronized swimmers of the air,
 Until they disappear into the southern sky.
 
 © by Julie Creighton.
 Used with the author's permission.
 
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