The Blackbird Gospel

The Blackbird Gospel

There is a blackbird blanket on my lawn.
Perhaps they flew south for the winter
in search of warmer weather.
What a surprise when they landed here
in a rare cold spell.  The air is icy, crisp, clear,
and the sky is streaked with branches
reaching upwards, full of blackbirds vying
for a spot closer to heaven,
not so unlike the rest of us. 

I am not the bird watching type; never cared
to learn the genus and species, the habits, the language.
It was enough for me just to recognize
the color, the markings; to appreciate
the weightless wonder of their tiny bodies. 
But then I saw one on the windowsill today.
His eyes darted from me to the room behind,
then made contact with mine.  More curious than afraid,
he steadied his gaze and watched … me.

Funny how looking into another’s eyes
can makes one seem more real;
more, shall I say, human. 
Eyes connecting can turn a bird
into a fellow being; a man or woman
into a brother or a sister. 
They can start a war or melt a heart. 
They can make us incapable of ignoring
the singular among the masses.

I wondered then if he saw me as a fellow being,
or an enemy, a predator. 
Did the act of looking into my eyes
make me less like the masses
of humans he flies above
and more like one single human
who shares with him
a tiny particle of God,
an equal place in this universe? 

He blinked then flew away, joining the masses
filling bare branches like fruit hanging from a fertile tree.
I followed him with my gaze
until he became indistinguishable
among his tribe of blackbirds.  What if
more of us humans could look at each other,
eye to eye, more curious than afraid,
no matter what tribe we called our own? 
Can you imagine a world like this?

SWPoet
January 9, 2010




Poet's Note:

I hesitated to use the word "gospel" but when I looked up the definition, I could see that
perhaps the blackbird's lesson does have some similarities to the teachings of Jesus and many other
prophets and wise voices.  Perhaps it isn't so important which teacher's words, which code of man
in his connection with his higher power, resonates most within us, but that we respect the voices heard
in the souls of each of us humans, individually and among our families and tribes. 
For this reason, I believe the animals should have a gospel all their own.  May they speak with their eyes
and may we "hear" with our hearts since we are deaf to their voices, and may we treat each other with the same respect.