As If…

Waiting at the station for the commuter train,
I sit watching the sparrows perched
in a still-bare tree watching me as if

they have something to show me
and I better pay attention. One darts down
to the sidewalk to pick at some crumbs

beside a garbage can, followed by another.
When a different pair dives to the food,
the pair already there takes their places

in the tree. As if it’s a game, all but me
understanding how they’ll take turns when
their time has come. It would take more time

than I have to figure out their comings
and goings, no obvious pattern, no clear
indication of who’s next, but they all get it,

and get along. No fuss way up there
in the branches. Easy, you might think,
when there is only a small number, but then

you remember that you’ve seen hundreds,
even thousands, swarming without collisions.
Never any air traffic control necessary

to bring the apparent chaos to order. There’s
a shared purpose, a common understanding
of the rules of engagement, as if all have

attended the same class on etiquette,
believed what they learned, taken it to heart.
As if each now has something to teach.

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Jim Tilley has published three full-length collections of poetry and a novel with Red Hen Press. His short memoir, The Elegant Solution, was published as a Ploughshares Solo. He has won Sycamore Review’s Wabash Prize for Poetry. Four of his poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. website: jimtilley.net