In my backyard, a lagoon lies broad

a paradise for fowl of aqua kind

each season shows a stunning award.

Ducks, geese, herons, and swans appear

touch down delightfully, all day, all year

feasting, mating, sporting without fear.

But this year, something seems amiss

fewer white swans grace the scene

smaller duck flocks sing a lusterless abyss.

Disturbing news spreads far and wide

swans dying, followed by their kin

avian flu causes their numbers to subside.

Ripple effects extend to grocery stores

a dozen eggs now cost six dollars or more

as chickens too fall victim to the same score.

My backyard is a small window

reflecting the bird world on water’s glow

all connected, all affected, in a universal flow.

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Li Ruan is a Manhattan-based educational consultant after spending over 20 years in enrollment management at US higher education institutions. She is an emerging immigrant writer who felt a special calling to write later in life. Writing poetry in English has deepened her intimate relationship with the language and given her the power to promote cultural understanding and peace.

Li’s work has been featured online at Restless Books in New York City, “Humans in Pandemic” of Purple Pegasus, Inc. in California, and FloraFiction in Florida.

You can find Li Ruan on Twitter (@LLr34) and Instagram (liruannyc).