this kind of bird

This kind of bird flies backwards
& this kind of love breaks
on a window pane
-Diane di Prima 

this kind of bird
doesn't believe in mason jars--
this kind of
bird leaves their love out on 
the kitchen counter 
like tomatoes or 
bananas that brown 
in the windowsill heat--
let's make banana bread together
& slice it while
it's still warm--
this kind of bird
doesn't save 'i love you's
like marmalade--
orange smile with me--
keep a lid on my tongue &
i'll spit out a mouth full of 
robin feathers--
this kind of bird sleeps
in hydrangea bushes--
blushes permanently like 
a white peach--
what kind of toast do 
you want when we wake up
in the morning?
this kind of bird 
builds wings from dead leaves
& honey--
practices falling instead of
flying-- drops her//himself 
like a rubber ball becoming
the moon-- dive into the
creek--
this kind of bird 
hides beneath rocks &
learns to speak crayfish--
i love you like crumpled
socks by the door-- like 
warped umbrella wires--
like a mouth full of 
street light from the window--
this kind of bird breaks
promises like kitkats--
shares apologies 
to every clover
in the back yard--
have you ever seen a bird lay
on their back?
stare up into the sun 
with me-- we'll 
make our knees into match sticks--
this type of bird
flies backwards but
only so he can catch
the cherry pit you're going
to drop & planet it
so that it will grow
into a peach tree one day--
this kind of bird 
fell heavy as a crock pot--
broke on the kitchen floor
& loved himself enough
to pick up these
hunks of ceramic that
at one point made up 
my hips--
this kind of bird 
has a butter knife for
a tongue--
this kind of bird 
pushed herself from 
the nest--
this kind of bird 
speaks only 
in love poems typed 
on noisy type-writers
clacking from each of her teeth--
this kind of bird
this kind of bird 
this kind of bird flies 
out of the mason jar--
flies forward-- flies
backward-- flies
into your mouth-- flies 
up stream with the salmon--
flies behind the red knots 
up the coast from mexico--
flies over the shrugged shoulder
of the appalachians--
flies to the bottom
of the Marianas trench--
flies to the center of
the earth to plant a feather
like a flag
flies back to the windowsill--
eats M & Ms from the bird feeder 
& lays on his back
to watch the moon drop--
gentle like a rubber
ball in the driveway--
i love you like
banana bread & not like
marmalade-- like bruised
tomatoes-- like clovers 
& kitkats--
this kind of bird falls
backwards & breaks
on the kitchen floor--
rebuilds his wings
on the porch by
the street lamps--