T.E. in memoriam

Where the quetzal sings
a friend went to listen,
escaped from winter,
the shivering ivy,
snow deep on the roof.
And where the quetzal
sings he heard English spoken,
found friends with no shirts on,
sunshine, sea coast, intimate
knowledge of wave and surf.
When spring came he went home
when woolen neighbors asked
what he’d been up to he sang
O I have heard the quetzal sing.

31 October 2022