On traveling widely in a small place

on traveling widely in a small place

in the winter,
sparrow
honors the sky
with his little flight
from bush to hedge.

in coldest air
he fills the yard
with life,
bending each twig
again

until the light flies away
and he rests
above the cats,
below the wind.

with his tiny body
tucked along the brush,
he bobs
through the night,

looking,
for all the world,
like a leaf
that has refused
to fall.

Anstey -
I meant to comment on this yesterday but i got all distracted by the site being a beast.

So, let me say, i love this. It is soft and feminine and delicate and beautiful.

I'm reminded at once of a roadtrip and a pensive moment alone in the woods. There is an at-home-ed-ness and an unfettered freedom. Sort of a duality thing going on. And the seasonal, natural parts give this a haiku-tone, while the extended metaphor of the bird adds an incredible layer to this.

I have no suggestions on the words. I think this is concise and economic. the images are powerful and the word choices seem well-conceived.

Aphasic -

Yes, an atmosphere of lively quietude, if that's possible :>
I particularly liked the opening "honors the sky/with his little flight", a 'humble' opening scene [is that an example of meiosis?] - and also these lines "until the light flies away/and he rests" made an impression - simple but disproportionately effective.
At first I wondered about "bending each twig/again", but after another read, realised "again" has the effect of implying a ritual/territorial behaviour pattern in a solitary word - an example of Anstey's 'efficiency' comment :>
One phrase that troubled me - and it's probably not worth mentioning, so I will *perverse smile* is "tucked along the brush", where I feel that 'tucked' and 'along' are not really compatible; 'tucked into' would sound more natural to me, although perhaps that's too closely related to the human 'bedtime' scenario?
Last lines are quietly wonderful - I heard an echo of that contrast in the opening lines (sky & little flight) in "for all the world/like a leaf".
You do this thing very well in your poetry Norm, drawing detailed attention to 'events' that are often overlooked.

Norm -
Thank you both for the perceptive comments. I learned a good deal from your observations and appreciate them more than you might imagine.