Blossoms prowl

Blossoms prowl
the city with appetite and reason; hunting
to color in between

the greystones, devour 
winter, and fill in the cachexia of last season.
Birds yell their

flowery obscenities
over the power lines and alleys as I walk.
I dodge their underneath.

Butterflies are delicate
and rude: a slight bully cuts in front of me
to grope a patch of a lawn.

Then a pigeon drops
to dark berries on concrete. It eats the curb
with drunken pecks—

he nips and bobs;
dances unmeasured; his chorus of grey
feathers sing of spring

unsobered. 
Suddenly, a siren shoots across the street
with a stinging shriek.

At the periphery
of the senses, between the stars of
industry and power

before it rises fades
away forever, I caught a glimpse:
a flash of feathers

behind the grey
that coats all things— vital sign of life—
his iridescent fringe.

1. The Chicago greystone — began appearing in neighborhoods like North Lawndale, Woodlawn, and Lakeview in the 1890s. Bedford limestone is both locally sourced—from central Indiana—and named for its color. After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, Chicagoans wanted something showy.
2. CAGE questionnaire — is a screening tool that we use to identify potential alcohol problems
3. Iridescence — “Green barbules vary colors from green to purple with the observing angle changed from normal to oblique, while purple barbules from purple to green in an opposite way”