large enough

for a noose around his neck

or chunks of coral and turquoise

proclaiming her worth. Small enough

for one sparrow charred in mid-flight

to warn her sisters in a final loop around

the island. But who will sit on the clutch of eggs?

Perhaps the pampered cat. Likely a fox

will empty the nest. The child hopes

the whales surge through the river’s mirror

and tell us she and her fellow creatures

are in charge now, no mistake this time.

Heron will take care of the phone lines.

Bats will be the new internet.

In the rhythm of wings and hooves

Earth will grow larger

until the Big Bear holds us in her paw

licks the globe clean and hurls

us back to our rightful place

in the Milky Way