Out my back door 

One lone bright red cardinal

Hunkers down in winter’s cold.

Barely visible in an evergreen,

He appears like a single ornament

Left on the Christmas Tree.

Just like that, the evergreen is bare again.

What a pretty ornament He made,

I enjoyed the moment.

But I don’t despair he’s gone, 

Because I know he’s never far away.

He will grace the evergreen again.

If I’m watching closely, I’ll find delight

In the cardinal simply being who he was made to be,

A beautiful red cardinal fleeting from tree to tree.