Since April

The mockingbird on the gutter
has been running through his list
since before the sun came up.
He does not stop for traffic.
He does not stop for me
standing in the door
with the coffee I keep forgetting.

He has been at this since April.
It is almost May
and he is still going
like he's being paid,
like someone is checking his hours,
like the gutter is his post
and he will not leave it.

I stand on the porch
and the coffee goes cold
and the gutters tick
from last night's rain
and the bird and I
are the only ones up.

He's not done.