THE WRITING OVER THE RADIATOR

By Suzanne Rosenblatt

Adolph taped it on the bathroom wall
A scrap of paper with an unfamiliar scrawl
"Amelita Galli Curci
Opera singer from turn of century
Trained by birds outside her window."
I always give it a second thought
Wonder if she could be taught
By a bird
By imitating what she heard.
The message gives me pause
When I waken to crows' caws.
Amelita Galli Curci
I don't know
What species
Fluttered through trees
Near your window
No way it could have been
A crow
But as songbirds disappear
I wonder what you used to hear
A hundred years ago

"Amelita Galli Curci
Opera singer from turn of century
Trained by birds outside her window."
Is it possible through bird songs
To know where the voice belongs
Is there more to learn from birds
If we pay attention
Could they add a new dimension
To what we think we know
Or will we simply live our lives
Offended by the crow?