Incessant Parrots by Yvette Dos

If only I could stop
Wanting it all
I would awake at dawn
Sit on unforgiving and icy floors
Count my breath for hours
Chase out impure thoughts
Drive away jealousy, insecurity, need
Listen, with no opinion,
To the incessant, chattering wild parrots
That cackle so loudly
Outside my window
Day and night
Without fail,
Disrupting my concentration,
My clumsy attempts at meditation.
They say the first of them
Escaped from a pet shop
That was ablaze.
Survivors, their ancestors were.
They say they number in the thousands now,
In this temperate part of Southern California,
The lime green and yellow creatures.
If only I could experience them
With no thought of quieting
Their infuriating discord, of
Chasing them away
To someone else’s neighborhood.
If only
I could.
If only I could stop
Wanting
To be loved
Wanting
To feel cherished.
I would open my window
And invite the parrots in
For a snack
Of bread crumbs
And sunflower seeds.
I would be gracious.
I would.
I might even straddle the windowsill
And
Take to the air
With them,
Open my mouth wide
To contribute
to the collective din,
spread my arms,
and fly.