There are poetry challenges all over the internet this month and while I am not up to committing to another 30 straight days of blogging, I thought I’d try a few along the way. One recent challenge was to write a lune, which is a three-line poem with a 5-3-5 syllable or word count.

On a recent much-appreciated early-spring snow day, I spied these two mourning doves nestling together in the birch in my garden. They seemed the perfect subject for my first lune attempt.

Ruffled mourning doves
perched in birch
watch winter linger

Molly Hogan (c) 2016

The more I write, the more I realize how little I know. Now intrigued by mourning doves, I did a little research and couldn’t resist sharing my new-found knowledge.

Mourning Doves
Monogamous,
devoted,
male and female
incubate the brood,
rarely leaving a nest
unattended.
Both parents care
for the squabs,
feeding them crop milk,
a protein-rich secretion.
Their song is a lament,
their flight path strong
and bullet-straight.
On take-off and landing,
their wings whistle.
A symbol of peace,
mourning doves
are the most hunted bird
in North America.

Molly Hogan (c)2016