Thieving magpies now all storm-weary,
hours later on, we are able to locate
that flock’s one dominating female
who gazes at her carefree brood
in our stolen bathroom mirror,
which ladies have collectively
carried down to dry commune
where alpha males swagger
while others nested around
but omegas flew their coop
into town just to gawk —
mostly at squawking bald
eagle feathered brothers,
also out well past curfew
tho so far not succumbed
to this pandemic bird flu
according to esteemed
Stanford University’s
virology researchers.

Photo by Jannet Serhan from Pexels