Humble is Beautiful - Looking Closely to Write

Georgia and Chickadee

Photo by Amy LV

Chickadee Close Up

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Yesterday the chickadee that you see above flew into our window. Georgia heard the window-hit and ran outside to find the bird stunned in a snow pile.  Learning that could not survive the cold stunned for long, she brought it inside and kept it warm in a box until it regained strength.  When Georgia opened the box, little chickadee flew around my study for a moment!  She and Mark caught and sent it back to the wild.

Georgia volunteers at Messinger Wildlife Care and Education Center, a special place here in Holland, NY.  She knows a lot about birds, and she was ready to bring this chickadee to a rehabilitator if it did not fly away within a couple of hours. I am very grateful to Messinger Woods for their work.  And too, they will be bringing a few educational ambassador birds, birds who cannot live in the wild, to my book release party for EVERY DAY BIRDS next Tuesday.  Take a peek at this video about Jimini Crowket. He will be with us for the book party, and I look forward to meeting him.

Sometimes things happen in your daily life, and you just KNOW, "This is a poem idea."  So it was with this little one.  I am so glad wee chickadee is well again, and grateful to have seen its beautiful feathers up close.  This poem pretty much wrote itself as I remembered just looking and looking at these humble and perfect colors on this humble and perfect bird. 

I believe that the small, humble objects and encounters we live each day hold great meaning, if only we look.  So look.  Put down a game or a phone or even a book sometimes...and just look.

When you look at today's poem in terms of writing, you'll notice that it does not have a regular meter at all.  And I planned to write it completely without rhyme.  But can you tell where the rhyme crept in on its own?

Last summer I also wrote a poem about (to) a bird who had flown into one of our windows.  You can read it HERE.  It is a poem of address, written right to the thrush.

Today you can find me visiting Kirby Larson's blog with a post about the family tree for EVERY DAY BIRDS.  Since the book flies into the world on Tuesday, I am very excited to begin sharing its stories.  Thank you, Kirby!

It is a privilege to host writer and nursing student Jenna Kersten over at Sharing Our Notebooks this month.  Please check out her post and comment to be entered to win a copy of Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD.  I am still looking for a few missing winners from earlier drawings, so please check HERE to see if you have won a book

Donna is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at Mainely Write...enjoy every last morsel.

This weekend, our daughter Hope and I will be at The Dublin Literacy Conference in Dublin, Ohio with many Poetry Friday friends.  I can't wait.  Happy Poetry Friday to one and all!

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