The Former National Bird

The Maya bird: an oriole, a finch, or a sparrow?
Above picture: a tree sparrow. (source: wikipilipinas.org)

The bird that perched on the sill

chirped a few notes with the creek

sang with the hum of the sun

and flew with the whistle of wind.

That bird, tiny and brown

as dried leaves feathering the huts

had a name so familiar

so common as grass,

I kept forgetting what it was.