In the east the color of slate,
the dark-eyed junco is a small grey bird.
with a white underbelly and a yellow beak.

found all year long in Pennsylvania,
The dark-eyed junco sounds
like a band name or a state of mind.

more commonly seen in winter,
the dark-eyed junco nudges, pecks,
blesses the February sun.

The dark-eyed junco throws no shade
Shines in the grey,
Emerges in the cold tones.

It is nice to be wanted, thinks the junco; and the winter wants me.

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Moira Kuo is a writer and teacher in the Philadelphia area.  She has previously published fiction in The Front Porch Review, Skyway, and The Monongahela Review, but is new to poetry.  She lives with her husband and two children.