nests

[tectak]

Nests

Outside the back window, across the alley Comma. You can see why, I know you can
the food coop’s blue recycle barrels Hmm. An aversion methinks. Your poem but are you reading it out loud? Nice start, though. I want more
loaded with knocked-down materials
are a regular Home Depot
for the local birds.

Flying and swooping above the rot I believe that swooping and flying may be much the same thing...unless you know different. Find something else that birds do...yes?
and decay, they were a flurry of life
throughout the dead cold of winter Nice and simple contrast between life and dead. It works as a neat observation.
before the last of dropped freezer truck ice Too wordy for this birdy. You omitted the name of the freezer truck driver.
had finally melted into the asphalt. Yes to this image, too. I like the "finally" as it implies impatience. Is that your intent? Please say yes then tell me why.

Before green began poking through the gray cement
cracks, their beaks plucked loose
burlap and twine from the piles,
the warp and weft woven into arborvitaes
across from second story windows. Overall comment on this stanza would criticise the line break on the adjective train "grey cement....cracks. Not good. Better to break after "through" as you do not appear to be seriously enjambing (ie with purpose). For clarity, however, you must associate "their" back to two stanzas ago. This far on it is a disconnected possession. Oh, we know you mean birds, beaks are the clue, but still....

To warm and feather our homes,
we humans scavenge too, comma misplaced or missing. "We humans scavenge, too; from West Elm to farm field flea markets for the...."
from West Elm to farm field flea markets
for the smoothest bed sheets, the comfiest couch,
a vintage mirror....but still a vivid observation. There is veracity here but the, the, a is inconsistent.

Now that the Flowering Crabapple blossoms Random capitals confuse. No Farm Field Flea Market but Flowering Crabapple...
block the alley view, we open windows and peek out
from our cozy creations, smell the spring air
and join the birds chirping
in concert with the tulips breaking ground. "In concert with..." misses. Chirping, yes...but with breaking ground. I just cannot help thinking "breaking wind" .Harrumph....sorry about that....

No real problems with this but there is inconsistency in a few areas. The structure suffers from tiny tremors rather than catastrophic failure. It is pastoral but hell, spring gets us that way.
Best,
tectak