Looking Ahead

    In November some birds move away and some birds stay. 
                                     .   .   .
    The staying birds are serious…, for cold times lie ahead. Hard times. All berries are treasures. 
                                                    from In November
                                                     by Cynthia Rylant
                                             illustrated by Jill Kastner
                             HMH Books for Young Readers, 2000

    I’m reading Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy (New York Review Books, 2015). It’s an environmental memoir if that really is a thing. McCarthy describes his connections to the destruction and resilience of our natural world. His beautiful language mirrors the beautiful colors, forms, and powers he encounters.
    His work inspired this poem.

                      The Constancy of Change
Why is it nearly impossible to recall the last robin?
The last fresh snow?
The last kiss?

We live our linear lives 
    Spirally.
        Sometimes swirling. 
            Sometimes plodding.
                Always forward…

            Halfway round, 
        we look back
    at our growing perspective
in ever heightening cyclical journeys.

                 In the hemisphere of the atmosphere 
                            change is constant. 

Recalling that last robin
is nearly impossible 
so filled with expectation and hope 
are we
for the next one. 
And the next one.

When suddenly 
    a robin does light 
        again
            on a low branch
                of the sycamore 
            and daffodil shoot
        through stiff slush
    to announce
a new lap around
    the journey. 

        And we kiss again.
                                           -—stay curious (and vote!)