Much obliged dear mother
For the life you have given us
And the beauty and wonder
That surrounds us.
I beg your patience
At this late hour
For us to learn once more
To care and celebrate
To protect and preserve
The rare and marvelous spectacle
Of bounteous life
Here on Earth
So displayed each day.
Darting out of the morning glare
She pirouetted about the main stem of the Uluhe fern
A circus-like flying feat
One of a hundred done in the course of a few minutes
Feats that have taken millions of years to develop and
refine.
Swinging off in one continuous motion onto the frond
Picking and poking about
She looks for an unfortunate aphid or spider
That has not yet evolved to win this game of hide and
seek.
And in the time it has taken me
To raise my cup and sip
She has likely eaten one or two
And sipped from her cup several drops of morning dew.
She does not, at distant inspection
Flash color or easily identifiable characteristics
Found in the field guides;
She is an LBJ bird
A little brown job.
Her beauty is found more subtly in her
Behavior and her adaptations,
Which are treasures only discovered
Through a bit of learning
And some casual observation.
And for what little is really known of her,
Most of her life will be a secret
To you and me,
But these few moments and all the rest
Are golden gifts which
On this Earth Day are revered
And loved.
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