The Men of my Family

[ellajam]

Hi, P&P, I'm a novice critic, but here are a few notes:

Three red ribbons flapping from my window: vivid image, period instead of colon?
father taped them so woodpeckers stay clear
of our aged, voluptuous plywood. I don't get voluptuous here
Woodpeckers are only here because a beloved bough
off the family tree cracked in two; it might sound better to cut woodpeckers...because
a minor devastation of Hurricane Sandy.
In fact, possibly a net benefit: An image would be better than telling this
the peckers made a nest in that tree's cavernous arm. nice image

Grandfather alive was just as clever. dead is implied by was
Gangs of marauding Brooklyn pigeons were kept at bay
with a swarm of metallic spikes on the balcony:
no avian shits round those parts no more.
After he died, we found lists of numbers in a drawer:
theorizing the lottery.

I really like the above segment, though I probably wouldn't miss the avian shits line

What legacy will I leave for my descendants when I have them? this line unnecessary
How will those unborn look up and say
“Father loved breathing the attic,
his sidekick a dapper gray parrot called Alex
that never quite mastered arithmetic.
How we loved him.”. I'd like a stronger last line

Just some thoughts, thanks for the read.