After lunch,
I watch the birds;
not through binoculars
but through a Spanish
iron grill,
that covers my window
and allows me to observe,
immerse and admire
the colorful parade
of avian guests,
who eat, unperturbed
on my window sill…

They feel safe
as they can clearly  see….
that, I am caged
and they are free.

But…adorned are
the bars of my cage:
colored glass
prisms, crystals
and love of twinkles.
Through the bars,
I can see
the tallest tree
full of branches….
and fauna
where scenes of
drama & romance
are played out
daily & hourly
sometimes,
by the minute.

Will the big old crusty iguana
ever catch his sleek green mate?
Crawling along
the thickest branches,
she’s faster,
more agile,
graceful in her
prehistoric
lizard ways.

 The capture
or the failure
might be played out
beyond
my panoramic view.
So the rest is left
to my imagination.

                                    The family that munches in bunches

And last but not least….
The Chachalacas…..!
Big brown, lizard eyes
prehistoric chickens
like small terradactyls
running up and down the branches
‘monogamous’ (for a season)
preening their mates,
building nests, eating
a banana bunch a day.

long-distance gliders

Flying like a hang-glider’
they take off from the top
of the big Jocote tree;
open their giant wings
and glide gracefully down.
Any chicken looking up
would die of envy..
Me too! Me too!
I admit, I wish
I could do that too.

                                                            “SHAKE It Papi!!”

Karima Hoisan
November 5, 2026
Costa Rica