to-do list for a true sparrow

1. worry about the scent of a dead rainbow
2. sit in another garden 
& dream myself ancient 3. talk to the ghosts
who stand at the bus stop but never board
4. eat the latter half of a granola bar 
& consider trying to become a sixteen-wheeler
to drive wildly through the night 
5. tell a story to someone who is not listening
6. pretend they are listening 7. stop & talk
to the crows who fight invisible knights 
in the field by the high school 8. crave a glimpse
at what they say 9. envy their feathers
10. try to love myself 11. find a puddle
for grazing 12. yes this is my body 
& my face 13. yes this is what the world sees
when it comes to me & says, "here is some seed"
14. when the morning comes again do not weep
15. only the dead birds & dead deer should weep 16.
you are alive so you should find a leaf to dance with
17. dance beneath the willow 18. pretend no one
has ever seen you 19. try to be the first 
to glimpse the moon when she comes 20. tell no one
as her face rolls over the hills before
taking its place in the sky 21. remember
a past life when you were a sea shell 22. do not 
worry about the scent of a dead rainbow 
or a dead planet or a dead garden 23. trust
every green you know 24. sing in morsels
25. nest in the hair of a sleeping girl