This poem is part of my Cherishing Nature series and you might use it as a springboard for journaling or writing a poem about what creatures in particular you cherish in nature.
It's called the goldfinch's nest.
A pair of goldfinches have woven a sturdy ball of a nest in our elder tree.
They have gone out on a limb.
Anchored where they have no protection from summer winds,
Rougher guests these days.
They are unshielded except for their own small bodies.
A few sticks and mud.
Like bowerbirds,
They weave flowers into their nest walls.
If they choose Lithodora,
Heavenly blue.
Their chicks will sleep in a cradle of fallen stars.
And fledge through clouds of fragrant blossoms.
What a pocket of light!
One goldfinch sits in long warm stillness now.
When we go outside,
We give her a wide berth.
Careful not to bruise her privacy.
With our louder lives.
Remembering the times we too craved a sanctuary.
The world could not touch.
We will them to succeed.
When the nest is abandoned,
We are reminded of the grief we feel every day for nature and her creatures.
It is a heavy tide.
It sometimes sloshes up at our front door.
Yet its salt does not belong to these birds.
We do what we can.
Grateful we can still bear witness to the small.
And survive the lodge.
