Among Sparrows

Poemata LXXIV

A beloved pair / Passerine predators perch / twigs sway in the wind (photo: Stephen Lester)

Sparrows, little brown and brindled multitude
Countless as the sand, scattering throughout the land;
 Bird of Venus, Roman in her attitude
 Pecks about the ground, curious, what has she found?
  Grain they say she eats, and hunger grows enow
  That we must suspect, that all the lines may connect--
   Famine! Now they say with mercy we allow
   Little pests to eat? Now shall his'try repeat?
    Say she lived here long and made this place her home?
    'fore our own were slain? Now she is begging for grain?
    So the commissar, the officer, as one
    Say to make it right, banishing her from our sight;
   Make the land so free of flut'ring pests of yore
   Chase them till they fall, crushing them one and for all;
  Where else shall they go from shore to shining shore
  Had no other home, soon we are hearing a drone--
 God has numbered them, who pecking kept at bay
 Countless other things, hunger on silvery wings
Conquest, war and now, bleak Famine comes to stay
Those who crush the small -- powers unkind duly call.

Author’s note: Identifying the sparrows is a Rorschach test. Answer carefully!