Glory be to God for wingéd things:
purple throats of finches pour forth
cascades of watersong
black scissor-wings of crows cut
clear blue cloth of sky
chickadees bob black caps, send cheery notes
from birch to cherry, laughing
hanging nest of bushtits trembles—
cheep and chitter of songs newly hatched
robin red breast swells with ruby joy, spills hidden carols
to the viridescent spring
God’s Sacred Dove preens her phoenix feathers,
dives to earth, alights on all our heads
in flicking tongues of flame:
Sing praise.
Photo by Julio Mulero, Creative Commons via Flickr.
really beautiful….
thank you, friend…
Love, love, love this. Thank you, Kimberlee. And thank you for the lovely thank you note I got from you a week or so ago. Timing was perfect as I’m getting ready for some hairy foot surgery next week. Thanks for your kindness and encouragement!
Thank you, Diana! I’m so glad you love it. And I’m so sorry you’re having to have surgery. I will be praying for you as you recover, that you will be able to keep your foot up, literally, and rest!
Listening to baby finches beg for food this morning was perfectly fitting as I read your psalm. Bless you for capturing the wonder.
Thank you, Pat. I’m so glad you stopped by! And so glad you took a moment to let me know my words had divine timing 🙂
I saw a goldfinch today, shooting across a yard, a flash of brilliance.
We don’t have goldfinches in my neighborhood. I saw a purple finch once, though, and it, too, was a flash of brilliance…
Beautiful………..the Sacred Dove alighting all our heads. So powerful.
Thanks, Jody. And thanks for sharing my poem on Facebook!
Kimberlee, this is beautifully expressed. The birds are all about a conversation of love in songs…..bless you!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving this comment–I love knowing when folks drop in 🙂
That poem was inspired by a fun exercise that author and writing instructor Jennifer Trafton had us do at a retreat at Laity Lodge earlier this year, which in turn was inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “Pied Beauty.” I actually had a lot of fun this spring writing poems in the format of “Glory be to God….Praise Him!”