The Large Economy of the Beautiful
I am wearing my birding hat
and crazy paraphernalia:
binos and bottles, little notebooks and pens
as cars whiz by on Highway 1.
Today I have learned about Syrinx, nymph
beloved by Pan,
also the throat muscle and cartilage of bird song.
The Black Skimmer moves along the top of the water
trolling for fish;
California Cormorants stand on the sand
drying their wings.
willet, whimbrel,
dowitcher and plover,
yellow feet, red bills
Great Blue and Snowy White
At night the shapes of birds move differently:
wings calling
us to rise from our daily difficulties
and sing ourselves into form.
Phoebe MacAdams
from The Large Economy of the Beautiful