meanwhile...the skies turn red

birds just falling out of trees
two in our yard
one down the street
tom calls the city
they say
"we need to test their brains
but they need to be fresh
so get one as soon as they fall
out of the tree and put it
in a ziplock in the freezer
and call us back."
and we'll just hope
whatever made them
fall out of the tree
isn't something you can
catch from picking them
up and putting them
in a ziplock bag in your freezer.
pretty sure I don't want
mysterious dead bird
next to my frozen pizzas...
maybe in a styrofoam cooler,
on the porch.