Spring Paean

Pileated woodpeckers call
raucously through the forest
abandoning one tree for another
prospecting their opportunities
thrumming and drumming
as copious chips of long
slivers of bark surrender to
the voracious bird's assault
detach and flick from trunk to
the snowed-in forest floor
in search of beetle larvae. 
Crows mob frantically far
in the distance, their hysterical
orchestration symbolic of 
conflict as they circle and emote
fury at the presence of an owl
impervious to the noisy assault
serenely indisposed to locate
elsewhere, enraging the crows.
Chickadees flock and flit
across tree branches and within
the inner network shadowed by 
nuthatches, all reacting to
the warming sun of spring
and the inevitable melt of the
seasons' snowpack. Crimson
streaks fly gracefully among
firs and spruce, as vibrant song
bursts from cardinals' timeless
spring repertoire of exquisite
melodies in their spring paean.