Where did all the birds go?

For the first time I now live in what is essentially an urban environment. I never thought I would miss, as much as I do, seeing but more importantly, hearing the songbirds. Yes, the geese will fly overhead honking their instructions and I do hear an occasional owl hooting from a rooftop in the hour before daybreak, but no songbirds. I realized that I had taken their sound and their presence for granted just like we do for so many other positive experiences. It is sad to think that we can only truly appreciate such things when they are gone. Consider this warning from the Audubon Society: More than half of the bird species in the U.S. are in decline. There is a larger lesson to be learned here!

Where did all the birds go?

A sudden silence to my ears.

A sound you will surely miss

The moment it disappears.

Did they fly from us?

Did we drive them away?

What sound will replace them;

To start a brand new day,

To herald the birth of spring,

To lift spirits of the free?

To keep me company

As I walk among the trees;

Along the deserted beach,

Through the high desert sage,

Under a sky so blue.

When all I want to do

Is listen to the birds;

The Mourning Dove at daybreak,

The Magpies in the hills,

The Whitebirds on the sea.

They no longer call to me.

So lonely do I feel;

Without comfort from their cries,

The majesty of their flight,

The light echo of their wings.

Like tiny angels sing,

A chorus as they fly,

Sweet sorrowful refrain,

Goodbye, Farewell, Goodbye.