It’s been a long day

~ Live & Learn

rainy-evenings-red-hair-bird-in-hand

The phoebe sits on her nest
Hour after hour,
Day after day,
Waiting for life to burst out
From under her warmth.
Can I weave a nest of silence,
weave it of listening,
listening, listening,
Layer upon layer?
But one must first become small,
Nothing but a presence,
Attentive as a nesting bird,
Proffering no slightest wish
Toward anything
that might happen or be given,
Only the warm, faithful waiting,
contained in one’s smallness.
Beyond the question,
the silence.
Before the answer,
the silence.

~ May Sarton, from Beyond the Question, A Grain of Mustard Seed: Poems

Notes:

22 thoughts on “It’s been a long day”

  9. “…Proffering no slightest wish
    Toward anything
    that might happen or be given,
    Only the warm, faithful waiting,
    contained in one’s smallness.”

    Love the patience and acceptance of one’s current condition that are implicit in this passage. A really beautiful piece, DK!

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  10. So wonderful the maternal love the Phoebe, embraces…giving her all, faithful compassion, nurture of quiet stillness and the bodies warmth…while she waits, her baby completes gestation and then just at the right time, the sweet baby bird starts to peck through the layers upon layers of shell, to emerge from the warmth of the inner, contained shell and to the mighty welcome of Mommy Phoebe…another miracle has taken place, a life has bloomed…

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