SUNBIRD AND WILLOW by Tammy T. Stone

As I sat down to write, it wasn’t a poem I thought I had living in my heart in that moment, waiting to emerge...

I didn’t know what it was, just that it was waiting to be heard, as I knew I had to grapple with the feelings I describe below, of feeling out of sorts, more heavy than free. I was caught off guard by the unexpected gift of stark imagery, of trees and birds, their gorgeous free-flowing, natural beauty; I felt them dwelling inside me and also hovering, just outside my grasp. As I envisioned the sunbird and the willow, I let myself go on a journey with them as they spoke to me, and let me express my hopes and fears. I hope you enjoy!

William by Kim Seng

Sunbird and Willow

by Tammy T. Stone

As the sunbird sings

The willow inside of me,

In her lush plumy softness

Sweeps toward the ground,

All grace, but I’m still

In a state of unbelieving

As I watch her begin

The floating down

Draping the wind of me

With her lavish, kind,

Caressing weight

The willow glowing,

Having embraced the perfect

Light, now offering a

Bottomless place to rest,

The strong, delicate formation

Of freedom abounding

She brightens at the sound

Of the sunbird above,

A place that has also reached

The depths of my being,

Their colours made

For each other,

Their sounds echoing

The rounded harmony

Of Completion

But between the two I

Now hear myself falling

Because I, unbelieving still,

Enter the encumbered

Weight of things, a curtain

Opaque and unforgiving,

The lovely willow on one side,

Joyous sunbird flitting

Among all that is

And the willow too,

Finds her way there,

Despite every fear

I have known

I reach for where

The willow goes

And I vow

I vow to fulfill the why

Of my existence

By treading through

What separates us

By coming softly upon

The hard edges

Apartness brings

And even if I never find

The bridge on which

The willow and sunbird meet

Even if I cannot dissolve

The disquieting gravity

I will spend a lifetime

Looking for where I

Can root and where

I can fly.

Sunbird

Tammy T. Stone is a Canadian writer, photographer and chronicler of life as it passes through us. Always a wanderer, she's endlessly mesmerized by people, places and everything in between; the world is somehow so vast and so small. She feels so lucky to have been able to work, learn, live and travel far and wide, writing, photographing and wellness-practicing along the way. She invites you to see some of her recent photography here and to connect with her on her writer's page, twitter and her blog, There’s No War in World, here.

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~