Every time a bird grazes
A Cloud—we write it down.²
You throw us to the Crows—but
It turns out we prefer them to you.³
They who hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belovd by men.⁴
Migrating Birds teach us that
All life follows Divine Change.⁵
Birds are always flying about
In the Sunshine somewhere—
But they seldom mean anything …⁶
Bird sing the Sky into place—⁷
Do you hear that bird Warbling?
That’s the sound of your Entry into the world.⁸
Birds take it upon themselves to exclaim:
“Extraordinary,” and the word takes root
In the air—and is Inhaled by mankind.⁹
We are Birds Beak to Beak!¹⁰
¹ Emily Dickinson, Out of Sight?
² Mahmoud Darwish tr. Akash & Forché, Mural
³ Madeline Miller, Circe
⁴ William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
⁵ Bell Hooks, Appalachian Elegy 59
⁶ Homer tr. Samuel Butler, The Odyssey
⁷ Joy Harjo, For Keeps
⁸ Philip Kapleau, Zen: Merging of East and West
⁹ E.M. Forster, A Passage to India
¹⁰ Duoduo tr. Lee & Cayley, Wishful Thinking Is the Master of Reality