HUMMINGBIRDS

	by Raymond B. Kupelian


	A young hummingbird
	Poor thing
	Flew all the way
	To the balcony
	Of my apartment
	On the third
	To imbibe the nectar
	From an artificial flower
	That I have implanted
	In the humid soil
	The day before
	When the lilacs in the pot
	Suddenly died...

	To their detriment,
	The hummingbirds of this world
	Will find out one day 
	That man made flowers
	Beautiful no doubt
	Lack the feeling
	Or sentiment
	No odor no soul
	No need for pollination
	We shouldn't come too close
	They might eventually
	With their subtle ways deceive
	The shrewdest among us
	And yet the worse
	They will fool innocent birds
	Without having any remorse...


--
Raymond B. Kupelian is a recognized author in the Diaspora as well as
in Armenia, where a sampling of his short stories and latest two
novels have been published. Now in his sixties, Mr. Kupelian has lived
in Liberia and Sierra Leone for more than twenty years.  His African
short stories have been translated into English and Russian.