The Feeder, 5

5.

Some: thistle; some: sunflower, cracked, already shelled.

But it's grease that wooed these out of the woods,

a pair, Hairy not Downy, we know this

from their size and not their call.

Why are they squeaking? Bigger

than the rest, not bullied by jays, seizing the stash,

swinging on it, drilling into it, one at a time

as the other clings to the trunk of the nearest pine

and waits its turn,

                              even the one with the red

slash on his head.