Mourning dove

close up shot of a dove
Photo by Tina Nord on Pexels.com

The mourning dove

Ambles along

Unhindered by the knotted cares of

A world run astray.

Only the wind

Speaks to her

And the great sky

Above,

Where the blue dove

Smiles,

Wreathed in bells of sunlight,

Their light

Falls on ancient stone sundials,

That foretell

The times that are

And yet to be.

Then only the earth-lit rains follow after

That sing

Their song

Of lilting laughter,

That drizzle down quiet afternoons.

Only the peace

Of the presence of Eternity.

The unraveling mystery of the runes.

Overhead fly the geese

Of spring

And the white butterfly

Who flits, twinkling,

Among the sage brush dancing

Gently in the wind,

Their stems still gray

From the length

Of the snowing days

Of winter.

Out of emptiness climbs

Strength,

While the tall cliff anchors time

And in the creek below,

The minnow

Flits on by,

Silver-finned.

The dove takes flight,

Wings whistling

Into the unknown,

Alone, yet not alone,

With her crowds of brothers and sisters,

Where the juniper trees gather

Under the wings of spring,

In the brave winds –

Singing.

© Copyright Sharon St Joan, 2023

Birds of the California Desert — Jet Eliot

Greater Roadrunner, CA We are lucky in this great state of California to have many different environmental habitats, providing a rich variety of bird and wildlife species. Let’s cruise down to southern California for desert birds. There are dozens and dozens of bird species in the California desert. Some species reside in a variety of […]

Birds of the California Desert — Jet Eliot

The Hawaiian Islands — Jet Eliot

Aloha! Let’s hop on a virtual plane and cruise to Hawaii for a tropical visit to a few major islands. Hawaii has approximately 137 islands, many of which are very small. There are eight major islands and we’re going to frolic on the four most commonly visited ones. We are 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west […]

The Hawaiian Islands — Jet Eliot

Only the white owl

bird white owl feather
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It is only the white owl

From her tall

Pine

Spire

Who

Might see the pinecone grow

And who

Still remembers

Even now, the snow

Drifting across the misted moon

After the embers

Of centuries

Of dark fire.

It was only

A while ago

Among the gold cliffs

That black ravens sounded their raucous calls

Of wisdom-woven prophecies,

They who brought the end of time, at last,

This time that has drawn to its close,

And now the single petal of the rose

Falls.

There glimmer

Within the universe of beings, the silent

Springing feet of the herd of deer

Bounding ever higher,

Ever fast,

On their journey

Across the snow.

Soon,

In the beginning,

The gold face of the setting sun

Will appear

Through silver sheets of rain that shimmer,

While, in the wandering whiffs

Of bitter smoke, will sound the cries

Of yesteryear,

That linger, still heard, echoing among the far cliffs,

The spirit of days

Gone

By.

Now hills swept with snow

Travel farther back to

The land of mists and magic, flown.

There

The wings of butterflies

Unfold in the dawn,

In the beginning

That knows still the ancient ways

And there along the shore that goes to nowhere

The brave one

Walks on alone

In the far country,

The soul of courage,

Portender of knowledge.

The howl

Of the wolf, ascendant,

Will mark

The moment

When the moon

Rises over fields of stars, when Hanuman, hero

Of the earth and the skies,

In the beginning and the ending,

Brings clouds of peace that shine

Transcendent

Through the living fire of the distant dark.

© Copyright Sharon St Joan, 2023

Winter Waterfowl Migration — Jet Eliot

Northern California is in quite a storm stir this week and last, as many of you have probably seen on the news. Here’s a look at the winter bird migration before the storms began. Snow Geese and snow-topped mtns, CA In mid-December we visited two wildlife refuges in the Sacramento Valley and it was fantastic, […]

Winter Waterfowl Migration — Jet Eliot