TRACKERS

                  Mead Gardens, Saturdays, the girls and I
                  Will trek around the stream-side nature trail
                  And watch bird-watchers, aiming toward the sky
                  Their long-lensed cameras, spot a yellow tail
                  Or speckled back or other telling trait
                  Of novel fowls on their migration routes
                  And over-hear their spirited debate
                  Trying to note the varied tweets and hoots.
                  Meanwhile my dogs are sniffing at the ground
                  For evidence of rabbits or raccoons,
                  Which for their searching they have never found,
                  Though they’ve been tracking now for many moons,­
                       And I’m the watcher watching everyone—­
                       Seeing their kinds of finding is my fun.

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