Everyone notices the stoop
of the hawk
the whirling jewel
of the hummingbird
we all love
the mockingbird
filling the yard with music
the low glide of pelicans
cresting waves
tanagers passing through
in the plumes
of tropical flowers
we marvel at the owl
exclaim 
over the eagle
even the great ugly condor
riding thermals
above Big Sur
amazes us
with its enormous
grace
but you
little one
common one
brown towhee
no one
notices you
you’re just there
in the background
somewhere
undistinguished
unknown
the unseen bird
bird I’m seeing now
looking through
my window
to the winter drizzle
the slums
of the sodden
desolate garden
the only bird
I can see
the only creature
out there
in the dregs of weather
my sweet
little secret
the drab
nondescript
one 
and only
brown towhee