It is not only the goodwill of robins
that moves me
to rescue five eggs in blue shells
from the cat—a scared family,
no more than strangers. You will fall
short of following me
unless you too have known the child
who croons out of nowhere
when a plate smashes on the tile floor.
If so, you will know why
I stand under the eaves
and why, as the hunter flees
I find pleasure
watching two robins
add to the store of down.