My Bird Friends

When I walked outside yesterday,

they had all come.

The fat robin, the sparrows,

the preacher bird,

even the pygmy woodpecker

with her snow dappled back.

All of them, gathered round, as if to yell

Surprise!

I spread my fingers.

They scattered, but not too far--

one to the lamppost

another to the maple bough,

another still to the power line.

Whether they had simply come

now that the storm had ceased

or they truly came for me,

I don’t know.

But in matters of science or magic,

choose magic.

Forever choose magic.

Drawing the Ocean: A Perfect and Strange Morning

The other day, an early morning, before work, I jumped out at Long Sands.

It was a weird day — it seemingly looked a lot cleaner from the shore but paddling out, it was disorganized and strange. It was one of those days where you feel like perfect waves are going by all around you and you somehow keep winding up in the wrong spot. So I settled. I’ll just sit and bob right here, I thought. I stayed around where I was, paddled for what came there and I was grateful for it.

The sun was shining, and there were only a few people out, and I felt so so good, so filled with gratitude and joy. And that’s when I had the experience I’d never had before, of the ocean coming to me. Out of nowhere, perfect rolling glassy waves came through, right where I was sitting, right to me. It felt purposeful and it felt like whatever vibrations had rippled off me, off those feelings of joy and gratitude and acceptance had nudged the water to throw some perfect ones towards me.

It was a perfect and strange morning.