Red Bird

I found this poem in a poetry book by Mary Oliver. The name of the book is Red Bird. Red Bird is also the name of the poem. Every time I think of Dad, I remember how he loved to watch the birds at the feeder in the back yard. He would get excited whenever he saw a finch or a cardinal. This poem made me think of Dad, and of his passing on October 30, 2002. It is hard to believe he has been gone 8 years.

Red Bird by Mary Oliver

Red bird came all winter
firing up the landscape
as nothing else could.

Of course I love the sparrows,
those dun - colored darlings,
so hungry and so many.

I am a God - fearing feeder of birds.
I know He has many children,
not all of them bold in spirit.

Still, for whatever reason_
perhaps because the winter is so long
and the sky so black - blue,

or perhaps because the heart narrows
as often as it opens_
I am grateful

that red bird comes all winter
firing up the landscape
as nothing else can do.