An Acknowledgement

Turning your head to survey
The borrowed garden, you spot
The head-tilt of a robin

Turning its head to survey
The far side of the garden.
You nod because you’re human,

And your instinct is to treat
Other species as your own,
Which likes to be acknowledged

Politely. It seems the bird
Is concerned with something else.
Survey completed, it flies

From the flowers and perches
On a plum tree branch. It sings.