I see four mourning doves every day
Serene and mild-mannered
As they pigeonwalk in the yard
Gray plump
tiny heads bobbing.
They graze under the feeder outside the kitchen window
Deaf to the sparrows and cardinals that swoop overhead and
Knock birdseed onto the ground in their feeding fury.
The doves peck and peck
In their slow meandering way
Under showers of manna