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									 are bad engineers 
tuck sticks  
in sloppy piles  
ignore my advice 
in fact scream at my suggestions 
and yet the nest 
grows round 
somehow cozy 
including a red ribbon 
found somewhere 
a gift from a gift  
now woven 
among blue eggs 
seeming random 
yet chosen 
 
 
© by Joe Cottonwood. 
Used here with the author's permission. 
  
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Joe Cottonwood is a semi-retired contractor with a lifetime of small jobs repairing homes. He lives with his high school sweetheart under redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, caring for curly-haired dogs and straight-haired grandchildren. Joe's latest book is Random Saints. Learn more about him at www.joecottonwood.com. 
                    
  
  
						 
						
																	
							
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												jamvan: 
												so charming :) 
												Posted 07/19/2022 03:17 AM
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												Wilda Morris: 
												A small but excellent poem! 
												Posted 07/03/2022 09:02 AM
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												waldo47: 
												"a gift from a gift" indeed. 
												Posted 07/01/2022 01:15 PM
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												Lori Levy: 
												Beautifully expressed. 
												Posted 07/01/2022 12:51 PM
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												KevinArnold: 
												Yes, and a gift from a gift, too. 
												Posted 07/01/2022 09:39 AM
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												Janet Leahy: 
												My favorite line in this poem, "seeming random, yet
chosen."  I think humans are also like that, we end up with a plethora of random friends and things, yet we have somehow chosen them to be in our lives 
												Posted 07/01/2022 09:30 AM
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												paradea: 
												Good one!! 
												Posted 07/01/2022 09:18 AM
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												Angela: 
												Left a smile on my face.  
												Posted 07/01/2022 08:34 AM
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												bbatcher: 
												I always enjoy Joe's poems. Great wit. 
												Posted 07/01/2022 07:08 AM
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												Sharon Waller Knutson: 
												I was happy to read a poem by my secret brother and favorite male poet. I love how Joe can create a poem about blue jays, his grandchildren or a stranger with the same skill and care with which he builds houses. I loved the humor and metaphor of blue jays as "bad engineers" and the alliteration in "scream at my suggestions." .  
												Posted 07/01/2022 05:39 AM
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