The Infidelity of Songbirds
Published by Sycamore Review
I
She said, / Female infidelity occurs in Western sandpipers and in / thrushes, /
in rockfowls and Kentish plovers, / in tanagers and shorebirds— / in all of them.
She spoke as if the science of mating made her words / easier.
II
She went on (counting on her fingers): / Female infidelity occurs /
in starlings and tits, / in berrypeckers and sunbirds, / in honeycreepers /
and flowerpeckers. / Your favorites. / Even in flowerpeckers.
III
With songbirds, there is an appearance of monogamy— /
of fatherbirds / and motherbirds / together / raising helpless chicks. /
But appearance and reality differ / as much as arms and wings, / lips and beaks.
IV
She went on: / There’s more about songbirds. / She talked something /
about genetic variability, DNA, / freshening / the familial line, /
about “it” / (All of it, she said) / being the nature of things.
V
When pressed, she said, It’s an insurance policy, / it’s about finding the strongest /
sperm, / protecting the species. / Then quieter, / whispered, / Finding /
the best mate. / She never said, / It’s about all they can taste. / That nectar.
VI
What is monogamy / but one female (her) / and one male (you?) / reproducing /
exclusively with the other. / Or maybe monogamy / is a love that settles /
on a branch. / She never spoke anything like that. / Her birds, they never sang / that song.
