Winged Verse - Cardinal

So, I recently made a post on my Facebook page (click here to follow!) asking for suggestions of birds you'd like me to turn into poems. As the post states, these prompts could come simply in the form of the bird name, or they could be more specific, including a photo, a characteristic, a memory, or a specific vibe you'd like me to capture. I work well with prompts, and I need your help! So send me your ideas through my Facebook page, and I'll get to work writing more "winged verse".

This project of turning birds into words is part of my longing these days to weave everything together, all my Loves in one place. I have always had the heart of a poet, the urge to turn words into art. And, of course, I Love birds. Thus, this idea was born.

My first poem comes from a request by Diane Dossin, who included this photo and a few supporting details

Diane Dossin: Cardinal that visits when I sit on my screen porch. My father died this summer (age 95); I like to think he's keeping me company via that brilliant bird. 

I sat out in the woods to write this one, with Diane's words and photo in mind. Here is what came out!

Winged Verse - Cardinal

Before you passed, I asked for a sign

How to know you were with me

Once your body was gone.

I sat on the porch,

Cup of tea in hand,

And waited for that sign to come.

It didn't take long for me to know.

I sensed it first by ear.

A metallic chirp, 

A cheerful tone,

As if to say, "Hey! Over here!"

His feathers were brilliant in the morning sun,

Eyes masked with a hint of mystery.

He sat there perched, on fire and curious,

Watching me as I sat watching him.

We stayed like this, eyes locked for a while,

As I finished that slow cup of tea.

And once I took that final sip

He took flight, whisking away.

I smiled, setting down my empty cup.

My heart full, radiant and red.

I knew already that'd be our sign,

I felt it in all of me.

~

After you passed, there was a void

Were you still with me, 

Now that your body was gone?

For days I cried and got lost in the pain

In a sea with no land and no anchor.

Until one morning I returned to my porch,

A warm cup of tea in hand.

It didn't take long for my fears to dry,

As my sign reappeared once again.

Northern Cardinal,

Father Spirit,

North Star,

My Guide.

Every day now he comes to me.

With the same cheerful, tinny hello.

Those brilliant reds,

That patient gaze,

Each morning a grateful return.

I take longer and longer to finish my tea,

Delaying the moment he flashes away

But whenever I finish and set my cup down,

I smile, knowing you never left.

She Lives!

...yes, that's right, you read the title (you did, didn't you?)...

"She lives."

Little Bird Nerd, that is.



She's still kicking about, fluttering her wings, foraging through the woods, and noticing as much as she can.

You see, while it's been over a YEAR since I've posted last, it feels like no time at all. I've been OUT THERE, doing the thing. But I've been missing writing about it, so here I am!

Let's catch up. :)

It's true, so much has changed. Check this graph, which shows my bird species totals for Macomb County alone, going back to the first year I started birding.

In that first half-year, I was learning. I didn't know many other birders, and I was teaching myself, studying, and searching for birds in the field.

In 2015, I started to branch out, study more, take photos of birds, meet more birding people, and learn from all these things. That year, I saw 158 species of birds in the county.

As time went on, I kept growing, learning more, and listing more birds, "peaking" in 2017 with 226 species of birds in Macomb County alone.

Then life happened, and other things became just as important as birding, like taking yoga teacher training in 2018; and falling in Love and spending this past year with my Love, my yoga teaching, and a new rhythm of life. I'm not even sure if I'll hit 200 species in the county this year (which is the not-so-unspoken standard of dedication in the local birding community), and I'm not so sure I care! Sometimes I run into birding friends and get questions like, "Are you still birding?" And the answer is YES! I have never stopped.

Perhaps what I've stopped is attaching so much value to "the list". Let's be clear - I LOVE LISTS. I'm the girl who has daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly checklists; lists for work tasks; grocery lists; lists of things I want to study; you name it! Lists help me feel organized and fulfill my need to process things by writing them down (I especially Love when they're color-coded). I still list new birds for my yard, new birds for the year, and new birds for my life list. Beyond that though, there are many days where I'm birding and not listing, just enjoying the moment.

Part of it is my yogic mindset, being less competitive and more present. Another part of it is simply wanting to stick closer to home, preferring time with Frank to time on far-off chases. I still bird every day in our yard, every week at the local park I visit, and every time I'm outside or within sight or earshot of outside (even if that "outside" is in the background of something on tv). You see, a true birder is always birding, even if the subjects observed are common. It's just something your ears and eyes are forever attuned to. It's like how because I play the violin, I always hear that instrument first and clearest in any song it is played. I can't turn off the birder in me, and I wouldn't want to.

So whether or not I'm following along with every chase in the county, or posting numbers from every walk in the woods, I still find joy in this gift of being a birder. Perhaps rather than a science alone, it has become an art of being. A musical, colorful, dancing experience that is forever changing and new.

Perhaps as life moves through its changing seasons, I'll re-find that rhythm of heavy listing, but for now, I am happy with my own gentle pace.

And a final note, to close - as I was walking through the woods about a week ago, I was thinking about how beautiful it is that when you release expectation of finding anything specific, you never leave unsatisfied. If you stay open to whatever experience you have, you're always filled with wonder and awe.

This same idea applies to yoga, too, and to life as a whole. If you come to your mat without expectation of what type of practice you'll have, what you'll be able to do, or how your mind or breath will react, you'll sit with what is and leave satisfied every time. My new goal is to approach each day, each conversation, each interaction with a stranger, each breath, each adventure, each walk in the woods, with an attitude of exploration rather than expectation...

...and that's the magic right there.