A Goodbye to You
Today we are parting ways, and I have the family garden in front of me to show you why. In recent times, more and more birds have been showing up to perch on branches or to peck the ground for worms. (No doubt due to Spring, which came overnight this year.) This was true for almost every living being. As if melting from their winter torpor, the plants, birds, and bugs sprung back to life; Even the sun shone stronger. And the family garden has been a living testament to this reanimation.
Like I mentioned, more and more birds have been showing up in the garden recently. Sometimes I can see them and their magnificent colors. The grackle for example — and only the males — iridesce black in the sunlight. If you can get close enough to one you can see its black feathers reflecting hues of purple, red, & blue. They’re metallic-colored, giving the grackle a luminous armor. Sometimes a bird’s song stands out more than its color. As ever-present as the hum of the freeway, the call of the white-winged dove permeates my mind. When I cannot hear it, I can easily play its song in my head, and if I’m feeling relaxed, then I can even sing it myself. Yes, it’s song is memorable. One need only hear the first note of this bird’s melodious call to know they’ve crossed paths with it.
But recently I’ve seen other birds. Just today, while writing in my journal I saw two cardinals land in the garden. The first one I saw was a female. Her beak quickly caught my attention, since it was a burnt orange-colored whereas its body was mostly brown and gray. From the side its body was shaped like a pear: large anterior with a narrow posterior. Its tail feathers perked up at the end, and its head feathers were raised. To the left of the female cardinal, the male cardinal rested, it’s body the color of red-hot peppers. And who could miss that large & elegant spot of black that covered its face? Colorful, indeed, and loud, of course. Together, the cardinals performed a symphony to an audience of worms. The cardinals sang, the worms danced, and I was there to witness. Companion, I have seen the cardinals in their beauty, and now I must listen to their songs.
They’ve shown up in my dove-grackle garden, and for this reason we must part ways. My biggest upset is that I know we have so much yet unwritten. Though, it always seems like that. See! If we had reached the end, then we simply would have started anew, setting the precedent for future chapters. Where would this story end? With confidence I say that this story ends here. We will part ways, but you will still be in my life because you are my past and thus my present and future. We will forever be linked, and your memory rests in my garden.
Now go off and wander until you find a different one. May we cross paths again, when my cardinal garden has grown weary.
15 April 2021
