Birdbath - Elizabeth Reninger

 only this

matters: this ecstatic 

baptism

this standing on stick-

thin legs where the singing

creek pools at the lip

of the waterfall

only this

ruby-feathered

chest diving to meet

its reflection

this beak piercing

again and again that quivering

 surface, these wings half-

unfolding, a ruffle

of joy guiding rivers

of light a tumble

of droplets dressed

in rainbows along your hidden

spine

shattering all 

decorum beneath

blue branches in quiet

assent...