Monday, July 4, 2011

Grace, on Wings

A most extraordinary thing:

Last evening while I was watering my vegetable garden (the hose too short and no nozzle, a spray generated by my thumb against the surge) a hummingbird flew right up to me --

It hovered mid-air, facing me, then turned in a glinting flash and backed carefully into the spray of water, towards me, about three feet from my hand, and took a bit of a bath, ruffling its tail feathers, lifting each wing in succession.

It did an about-face and dipped a few times, opened its beak and drank while all of perhaps thirty seconds passed.

I dared not flinch and barely breathed while all the time wanting to call out, to summon every person within shouting range to witness with me this vision of something so perfect and so nearly-weightless, so ephemeral.

Just to possess the ability to fly is something extraordinary; to hover: marvelous beyond language. But to dance -- iridescent -- in a stream of airborne water -- who among us has been so lucky?
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10 comments:

  1. Cro MagnonJuly 5, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    How wonderful. Nature obviously selected you for a little treat.

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  2. Mary McCallumJuly 5, 2011 at 3:06 AM

    sounds amazing - brilliant - I love humming birds

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  3. AnonymousJuly 5, 2011 at 3:43 AM

    That, my dear, was a gift from God just for you.

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  4. UnknownJuly 5, 2011 at 4:17 AM

    South Americans believe the hummingbird to be a symbol of resurrection.
    Do you suppose the Universe is speaking to you T?

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  5. KatJuly 5, 2011 at 5:53 AM

    What a wonderful gift! Hummingbirds are so beautifully amazing. Thanks for telling us about your experience. I could just picture it all happening.

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  6. PWallyJuly 5, 2011 at 6:20 AM

    I agree, it is a gift, a momentary gift just for you alone...you deserve it!
    Ima

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  7. ElizabethJuly 5, 2011 at 7:43 AM

    and you've described the marvel so perfectly --

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  8. TaradharmaJuly 6, 2011 at 1:10 AM

    Ah, yes. A gift. Who do you suppose it was from?

    Magic. All for you.

    word verification: nonaire

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  9. Marylinn KellyJuly 6, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    So beautiful, I can see it all perfectly with your description. At our second-floor apartment, a (or more than one, I don't know) hummingbird will sit on the utility wire then fly over to the window, hover a bit, then zoom off. But the dance you beheld is clearly magic, a gift, a symbol. xo

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  10. KJuly 6, 2011 at 7:51 AM

    Thanks for a great story, T. I felt the wind and heard the buzz from her wings.

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