nests

[Todd]

Hello Anne, 

Welcome to the site. Let me give you some comments below.

Nests

Outside the back window, across the alley
the food coop’s blue recycle barrels
loaded with knocked-down materials
are a regular Home Depot
for the local birds.

One thing I'm missing Anne is a lead in that captures me. I think you do a good job with words like back window and alley to give a castaway sense of something overlooked. I thought about Jared Carter's opening line for his poem, Fire Burning in a Fifty-Five Gallon Drum: "Next time you'll notice them on your way to work" There has to be something that lifts this from simple observation. My only other issue with the first strophe is the use of Home Depot. Normally, I like specific choices. I wonder though if this dates the poem and if using hardware store might be more beneficial. So, no strong issues here mostly just wanted something stronger in the opening. Nests is a good title, but its also comes off as fairly unassuming. I think if you're title is more basic you're opening line needs to do more. This could simply be my bias.

Flying and swooping above the rot--doesn't swooping imply flying (or diving at least)? For economy flying could become ascending, rising, or some such. I like the ending words on each of these lines.
and decay, they were a flurry of life
throughout the dead cold of winter--This line sounds particularly nice with its word choices.
before the last of dropped freezer truck ice--This feels way too cumbersome. I get what you're trying to convey, but the phrasing grinds the poem to a halt.
had finally melted into the asphalt.

Before green began poking through the gray cement--You might consider breaking on gray. You also probably don't need the "the" before gray.
cracks, their beaks plucked loose
burlap and twine from the piles,--Nice specific detail on the last two lines. Very visual.
the warp and weft woven into arborvitaes
across from second story windows.

To warm and feather our homes,
we humans scavenge too,--These two lines feel too blunt. I think its a good comparison but I'd like to see it executed with more subtlety. Maybe it could be as "We warm and feather our homes/from West Elm..." I'm not sure.
from West Elm to farm field flea markets--farm may be one two many words here. Maybe cut it. The fff sounds get a little jumbled on my read at least.
for the smoothest bed sheets, the comfiest couch,--smoothest and comfiest I would probably prefer with imagery instead of modifiers, or with more concrete description (Egyptian cotton, etc)
a vintage mirror.

Now that the Flowering Crabapple blossoms--Probably don't need that
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.--Probably can cut the "the" This is close to an epiphany moment (Wright's A Blessing, Mueller's What the Dog Perhaps Hears. The pacing feels a bit off. There needs to be more of a driving, building sense leading us to the payoff. It isn't far off though.

I hope some of these comments will be helpful to you. I like the bones you have here, and think this could develop nicely.

Best,

Todd