There are birds in the darkness that douse electrical fires Flaring up in nursing homes and the bedrooms of blind men Birds you cannot see There are birds in the darkness who nest in wooden crutches Eye patches and bandages, broken spinal columns And pots of winter plants Birds you cannot see Filling every tree Falling out of closets And perched on the hands of dying men
There are birds in the darkness who lead lost dogs off highways Steer boats past icebergs, save children stuck in wells Birds you cannot see There are birds in the darkness seen by those with tumors Circling common light bulbs with blue-feathered halos And the sound of rain Birds you cannot see Filling every tree Falling out of closets And perched on the hands of dying men