Birds on a Wire

Birds on a Wire

Birds chirp on a high wire,
sparrows, pigeons, a stray seagull
far from water, but hopeful.

Beneath them electricity pulses,
turning on computers
and dishwashers all over town;

messages hum through the wires,
the air quivers with news.
I'd like to be heard.

From the skylight I gaze over
roofs: grey-shingled, gabled,
or mansard, patterned

with exhaust pipes, chimneys.
I imagine that lightning
could strike me where I stand,

teach me to sing in a new
register, a potent madrigal
pulsing an arc of fire.