When safety concerns prevented
inviting human guests, I put up 
a birdfeeder for corporate celebration.
Two place settings waited
our side of the dining room glass.

Rosy-headed finches arrived first
scratching and splashing seeds.
Dark-eyed Juncos glided on invisible skates 
gleaning seed the finches rained down.
White-winged doves bobbed and strutted
like windup toys.

What a satisfying scene, like kids at play
or the kids’ table at the family feast
after promised desserts.

Then a flight of doves arrived. 
They didn’t just scare the kids away, 
they tipped the table over.

Four doves mounted the feeder and storms 
of seed showered a frenzied mob. 
It was a crowd of Black Friday shoppers. 
House Sparrows made sport of darting in
and out of the churning froth. 
A green-sheened grackle watched 
from safe distance, I thought I could
read its mind, “We can be rude, but not
that crude!” It flew away.

We had hoped that chickadees, nuthatches,
and cardinals would come. A cardinal guest 
would almost be like a smiling grandson
hands pressed against the glass.