Saturday, September 6, 2014

magnitude of creation (1)


Photo © 2014 Jennifer Wagner



the chickadees
and nuthatches

clap their wings
against their sides

zip, dip
snip
seeds
from the feeder

look
and dip,
snip again

twist
fly       a          w         a          y

and a moment later
are
back again
all day long

inch
by inch 
we get closer, to the window

watch them
watch us
watch them

face to beak

and learn
in some small way

how each
small thing

is never
small



© 2014 Jennifer Wagner



This summer I visited the Poetry Foundation in Chicago.  On display were some of Tony Fitzpatrick’s drawings The Secret Birds.  He says his grandmother used to say, “For the price of a piece of bread you can hear God sing.



31 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ah it is...all things matter...the small and the large...
and nature fascinates me as well...so i would enjoy watching them...
smiles.

Tank said...

Watching them brings me some sort of whimsical satisfaction, watching you smile at them warms my heart

Claudia said...

how each small thing is never small... love this...love seeing the value in the small things around us...

Grace said...

Never small...I love the sounds and the watching each other ~ And your title is divine, smiles ~

Sumana Roy said...

a world of wonders for both...lovely :)

Anjum Wasim Dar said...

so real action such vivid imagery-very well captured

NataĊĦek said...

what an interesting closure.. wonderful.

alan1704 said...

The wonder of perspective and the way we all interact with creation and each other. Well done.

Mary said...

So true that each small thing is never small. I like thinking about the moments you shared here.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

"how each small thing is never small....." oh, how I love this! A profound truth.

brudberg said...

I love that communication between man and bird... that last sentiment -- beautiful.. I think only by looking on the details we can get the big picture.

ZQ said...

Nice style great write!
ZQ

Anonymous said...

well observed, Jen ~

Susan said...

Gorgeous meditation! Closer and closer, we see each natural thing in its right magnitude, a story neither big nor small but just right!

Jody Lee Collins said...

Oh, Jennifer....I'm printing this and putting it next to our back window. Bird feeders and birds abound off our deck.
Wonderful poem!

Stormcat Poetry said...

The small ones are the most elusive. They never hold still long enough to get a good look at them.

Anonymous said...

' twist
fly a w a y'
I really like that part with the spaced-out letters. A very wonderful poem. Thank you for sharing.

Gabriella said...

'how each / small thing / is never / small' - I too love these lines! We all have a role to play and are all important. I enjoyed the way you expressed this.

Anonymous said...

how each
small thing
is never
small... love your poem!

Wendy Bourke said...

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious (Albert Einstein) - That wisdom exquisitely articulated here, Jennifer.

Laura said...

I enjoyed this thoroughly!

Jennifer Wagner said...

What a great compliment, Jody, you made my day!

RMP said...

lovely...it's like a little dance between the you...them flittering back and forth...you inching ever closer...watch each other....lovely.

Laura said...

So lovely! And the backstory is such a sweet addition. Thank you!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Small is so relative...something can be small but make an enormous impact on our lives. I've missed you around!

janetld said...

How clever and charming, your message skillfully presented. I like how the format is skinny, too - fitting for describing each small thing.

Gen Giggles said...

I like it, the use of chickadee is always a good choice. He keeps telling us things.

Magyar said...

"each small thing is never small"
__Such truth in that phrase; it never ceases to amaze me... that the birds have the cautious sense that -the watchers- will cause them no harm, so well seen in your poem.

this humming bird
buzzing into my face
travel time

(Hey fella, hummmmmm, wana fill that empty nectar feeder? Hummmmmm, we need to migrate soon. Hummmmmm!) Smiles! _m

elizabeth said...

Lovely.

Justin Lamb said...

This is a fun observation. You capture the play of the birds, both with the wording and the visual aspect of the poem. Nice work!

Anonymous said...

I really love how you've done this -- brava!