The Birds of the Summer

[Laura Marx]

The poem reminds me a little of Tennyson and his quaint, natural themes. It's nice to get that kind of poetry. I agree with everything everyone else has said - the images are contradictory. There is a place for that, of course - a la 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' - but nothing in this poem really seems to beg juxtapositions. It's a little painted picture of birds in a birdbath and goes no deeper, so I don't know why there'd be irony. So, much of it just feels like a false syllogism. That aside:

Fluttering frantically
nestled to the side
of their bath as others have said - inconsistent. I might change all this to something like: 'Fluttering and frantic, then nestling to the side of their bath'
filled to the brim again, as already pointed out - hackneyed. But more than that: why is it there? It doesn't add much.
splashing, stretching
spilling water to the garden bed This is a really good line and this is the kind of thing you want to be going for here
refugees
from the blistering summer heat first of all: no need for a line break. Second of all: it's a little late to introduce a clever thing like, 'Oh, they are refugees from the sun' - I'd say; 'getting refuge from the blistering sun': it's a simple poem, keep it simple! Make it as shallow as the water in the birdbath
family
bonding in simplicity
in simplicity... Like Erthona said, this is presented like a viola moment but doesn't reveal anything. You repeat 'in simplicity' and drift off and wax reminiscent about it. It doesn't even really make any sense, it's vague and the first use of abstract language in the poem which makes it incongruous anyway; but that'd be fine if it was the climax, but it seems sort of added on. It's discordant and a little forced to explore the interpersonal relationships of a family of birds so late in the poem. All in all - it's not the right poem for these few lines.
content to breathe.

I agree with Erthona, that you'd benefit from exploring forms. When I was doing it I just bought a great big economy pad and filled it up with poems in form, experiments with meter, etc. They aren't particularly good, but I benefited a lot as a poet from it.

Otherwise I'd just recommend consistency: make up your mind whether you want this to be about chaotic, splashing, etc. or serene bathing; if it's about the philosophical nuance of birds at play, or if it's a distant summer scene. Don't worry about making it poetic.