Still Life

Painted, perfumed, primped
ruby throat angled, alight,
striated wings splayed and tilted so,
talons taut, heads cocked
not to trill notes,
sip sweet nectar,
or entice a mate,
only to pose
poised on the stem
of a gilded branch
slave to the artist’s stroke
still life
Hummingbirds are meant to flit