The Parabolic Flight of the Hummingbird
I will hypnotize you
With my ecstatic flight,
Back and forth,
Flashing ruby red.
Casting my spell to declare
All of this mine–
The flowers, the nectar, and you.
Reigning over my green kingdom,
Tiny but supreme,
From the bare branch of a dead tree.
My wings have carried me
Miles too numerous to count
To prepare for this moment.
I drink deeply,
The sweetness of life
Filling my tongue.
The Assumption of the Geese
I hope that when my time comes,
Like the geese gathered on the river at dawn,
I will hear the call,
Spread my wings,
Lift my heart,
And rise with those around me
As one unified voice.
Casting my soul above me,
Following it into the sun’s light,
Joined wing tip to wing tip,
Lighter than the surrounding air.
Rising above the water
That protected us through the night,
In that one glorious instant
When all that has weighed us down disappears.
Walk with Me
Under foot, the ground is softening,
The ice turning to mush,
The mud starting to pull at my boots.
Water in the atmosphere
Catches the first rays of the rising sun
and fractures into a piece of rainbow,
Making color visible like believing in
The best outcome.
The red-winged blackbirds
Are singing from the tree tops
As if they can claim the future
Through their song.
The river that was bound
By ice is flowing again and rising.
In the renewed warmth of the sun’s embrace
My heart beats a little faster
And squeezes harder,
Expanding blood into my gloveless hands
Like an expression of joy.
Michele Keane-Moore is an avid birder and photographer who takes her inspiration from the natural world. She teaches biology as an adjunct at Western New England University and tries to get outside every day.
Photographs courtesy of the author.