Springtime stirs up hope and life in all our hearts – the promise of renewed strength, new beginnings, a fresh start, the promise of growth and much fruit to come; regardless of how long, cold and harsh the winter has been.
On Springtime
Working on detailed pages
without time for a break
working against a deadline so tangible
I feel it heavy on my neck and shoulders…
I ignore phone calls
I ignore emails
I focus
and plod along.
A shriek
like nothing I’ve heard before
my head snaps up
and my numb legs lurch towards the porch.
The memory of that woodpecker
attacking baby sparrows
plunging it’s drill-without-mercy beak
repeatedly into the birdhouse
unflinching, unstopping
still makes my heart stop.
I violently shoo-ed it away
and watched with a heavy, heavy heart
as it carried away a limp, featherless, helpless one
into the depths of the blue spruce branches
where the woodpecker made a meal of it.
Who knew
woodpeckers could be so cruel!
The parents watched
helplessly
hopelessly
squawking and fretting
flying around in circles
but unable to do anything
to stop the carnage.
I watched a helpless sparrow fall
and understood how much more I’m worth
to the One whose eye is on every sparrow
and most certainly on me.
A year later
when the spring sun melted the snow away,
chirping softly
fresh straw in their beaks
they were back
building a new nest
raising a new family
in that very same spot
that once brought them death.
They chose the springtime
and with it, new beginnings.
© shini abraham, from Treasures in Darkness: duco divina – contemplative doodling
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