Spring Poetry Is For the Birds

I wrote this poem a while back for my church literary journal. It's not great poetry, but it's fun, and always puts me in a spring mood. Enjoy!

Feeder Birds

The Wren chirps loudly in the Carolina morn,

Waking everyone up to a day reborn.

No alarm clock can match him for punctuality.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Sing a Song

Singing lifts our spirits until all sadness is gone.

The Juncos arrive, dressed in their best

With slate gray jackets and snow white vests,

Eating “four on the floor” and making no fuss.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Pick and Peck

Respectful good manners are always welcome in a guest.

Mourning Doves seem none too bright,

With their doleful eyes and languid flight,

They can sit still for hours like gray balls of fluff.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Coo, coo-Coo

Steadfast life partners. Where you see one, there will be two.

Bold Blue Jay dives onto the deck

Like a kamikaze with no thought to his neck,

The other diners scatter in a whoosh and disappear.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Awk! Awk!

The bully in the crowd is never hard to spot.

A flash of red says Mr. Cardinal is HERE.

His Mrs. blends with the foliage, but is always near.

He stands guard duty, watchful and attentive.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Watch and wait

A quiet meal is the reward after patience’s price is paid.

The sprightly Chickadee sports a cap of black,

Hangs on the wire tube swinging forward and back.

Swooping in, flying out, playing snatch-and-grab.

            Flitter, Twitter

            Chick-a-dee-dee

Oh, that we all approached life with such unspoiled glee.

Copyright LaVerne St. George, January 2009

The Joy of ... Snow!

When I lived in Michigan, snow was a way of life. It came in the Fall, stayed into Spring, and if you lived in or visited the Upper Peninsula, you were likely to see snow in July. In the Triangle of North Carolina, snow is ... different.

We had our first snowfall today. Tomorrow is the first day of Winter, so right on time. The snow came in big, fluffy flakes and fell slowly, gently, in no rush at all. Each flake landed and disappeared. The ground is still too warm to hold such a small offering. The whole snow event  took place in the early morning, around 7 AM, and lasted 15 minutes.

My husband hurried into my home office where I was writing and pulled the blinds open. "It's snowing!" he said with the excitement of a little boy. To which I replied, "Will you look at that!" and we stood for long minutes, an arm around each other, watching.

In those moments, I experienced the Joy that Sister Wendy talks about in her Book of Meditations. She says that Joy is not constant, but flashes suddenly upon our shadows and darkness, illuminating and transforming our interior landscape. In Joy, the world becomes different, marvelous, unique.

And so it was for those few minutes this morning.

As we finish this third week of Advent, Laudete Week, the week of Joy, I pray that you find such Joy in your life. Often.

Blessings on your day!