We encourage the song birds to come to us
Feeding sunflower seeds and thistle
As if we are not already overrun with wildlife
Thriving in the midst of human landscaping.
We discriminate against mourning doves and squirrels
Begrudging the house sparrows in the mix
Removing the suet mobbed by the starlings
Twice a day refilling the trays soon empty.
We pull weeds from the flower garden
Selecting which plants we favor
While the rabbits watch and wait
And the chipmunks scamper about.
The rabbits see our garden as their salad
The deer browse in our yard as if it is their pantry
We poison the mice to keep them from our actual pantry
And keep lids on the trash cans to deter the raccoons.
We hope to attract butterflies and hummingbirds
Growing native flowers the deer leave undisturbed.
In the soil the weed seeds wait dormant biding their time
Ready to succeed whenever our efforts falter.
For the animals that have adapted to humans
The sixth extinction does not yet apply.
Whatever can do well in this environment proliferates
Counter to the trend of planetary habitat loss.
