Magpie

Pica Pica One for sorrow, two for mirth, Three for a funeral, four for a birth I salute you magpie You enter marriage for the long haul The Mensa brainbox of the winged fraternity You can imitate human speech, You can grieve, play games, You can work in teams. You apportion food to your young, Fashion tools to trim their meals into fair measure When one of your own dies, You group around the body Your funerals are a wake of squawks and cries. Pica Pica From the open kitchen door I can watch your blue-black feathers Dropped in from the vacancy of the clouds An exhalation from the world of birds You pay no rent, I seek none, But we share my garden In our brief time on the Earth We both have tribulations Our different heartbeats monitor our days On the great revolving sphere that is our planet We are both victims of fate Caught in our palpitating cages Pica pica You are the Erasmus of the birds One for sorrow, two for joy Three for a girl, four for a boy Five for silver, six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told