Lonesome Dove

They arrive in a flutter of
grey, in a whirl of sound
distinctly their own, the
Mourning Doves who settle
among the seeds of our winter
offering to our winged neighbours.
In devoted pairs they arrive to
settle and gently take their 
place among the cardinals, 
juncos, goldfinches and
chickadees, disturbing none,
and themselves undisturbed by
the presence of busily foraging
squirrels. One dove among the
pairs, alone and apart, sits,
head tucked into fluffed wing
feathers, as though drowsing;
separate, while finding comfort
on chill white winter days,
in the presence of others.
That dove, in its single
existence, remote and pensively
unpaired, stirs compassion in
the observer's heart, a lone and
lonely journey through life.