I wonder if you know
Art credit - Hand-N-Hand Designs (glazed tile)
I wonder if you know
before the Earth was young,
Hummingbird was born
from a sliver of the sun.
He shimmered through the universe
at sunbeam speed,
until he saw a thousand flowers
leaning in the breeze.
Descending in a zoom
from where he’d been
he dipped into the blooms
to sip the treats within.
After he had feasted
on every luscious one,
he spied the wide horizon,
and saw Father Sun.
Alight with desire
to reunite,
he fled the thousand flowers
in a beam of flight!
Ever westward,
he chased the fading day,
till chasing today
became Hummingbird’s way.
Dashing past cactus
in enchanted lands,
he met Coyote
on the high desert sands.
“Why the rush, brother?”
Coyote probed
as Hummingbird hovered,
troubled to go.
“I must catch the sun!
I can’t lose today!
If I let it set
I may fade straight away!”
Coyote was clever,
and selfish and vain;
he knew Sun rests
before rising again.
Desiring twilight
all for his own,
he plied Hummingbird
in a wily tone,
“That’s just what I’d do.
How smart you are!
Better hurry on
since you’re going so far.”
As Sun and Hummingbird
dropped out of sight,
Coyote howled
for the very first time.
You’ll find him delighting
each night at dusk,
mocking Hummingbird
and his rush to the sun.
Past the blasted deserts
to the sea in the west,
Hummingbird would not
let the weary sun set.
But he was fatigued,
and keen to rest
on an island, (only briefly),
then proceed with his quest.
As he landed lightly,
the island raised her tail;
Hummingbird had landed
on a mother Blue Whale!
She reached to Hummingbird
compassionately,
with images instead of words,
telepathically…
dark light
contrast
celebrate
trust adapt
accept flow
buoyancy
dive deep
farewell
sing
The sun touched the ocean
and broke the link;
Hummingbird could not
let today’s sun sink.
Just as he flew west,
Blue Whale calf surfaced too
to send her own image…
gratitude
At the sea’s horizon,
a jungle rose.
Father Sun was still in sight
but ever so low.
Hummingbird was spent;
he needed energy,
so he lit upon a limb
up in the canopy.
As he sipped nectar
like only he can,
Hummingbird noticed
Orangutan;
breaking branches,
twisting, weaving,
placing them neatly
in the fork of a tree.
“What are you doing?”
Hummingbird asked.
“Building my nest,”
yawned Orangutan.
“Why make a nest?”
he questioned next.
Orang rubbed his eyes,
“Night’s my time to rest.”
Hummingbird replied,
“I’ve no time to rest.
I’m chasing the sun.
That’s what I do best!”
Orang yawned again,
“When do you refresh?”
This flummuxed Hummingbird
as he headed west.
Over other oceans,
Hummingbird rushed
to yet another shore
where sea and trees touched.
He landed in a mangrove
beside a tidal stream,
to rest a few seconds,
have a bath, and a drink.
As he splashed about,
eager to leave,
Tiger came and crouched
beneath the roots of a tree.
Hummingbird was unaware
he wasn’t alone.
He was scared
when Tiger spoke, slow and low…
“Hello little Sunbird.
What brings you here?”
You might imagine
Hummingbird was stunned from fear.
It’s always disquieting
to hear Tiger speak;
it’s petrifying
when you’re close as nose to beak!
He weakly found his tongue;
“I stopped for a bath.
I’m chasing the sun
to make today last.”
Tiger flicked a whisker,
“Night comes soon.
Chase your day, Sunbird;
I choose the moon.”
Tiger turned silently
into the trees,
leaving Hummingbird
there in the tidal stream.
He dried his tiny wings
so he could fly away,
though something Tiger said
made him hesitate.
Something in the way
Tiger chose the moon…
New doubts
pursued Hummingbird as he flew.
He was so bothered
he forgot to rest,
till he faltered from exhaustion
as he rocketed west.
His wings stopped beating
as he dropped from aloft;
Hummingbird was done for
had he not landed soft.
Ostrich caught him,
in her fluffy feathers;
they were quite a pair
there at sunset together.
The oddest flockmates
that ever could be,
yet Ostrich saw plainly
what Hummingbird needed;
“You chase the sun
but your life is sapped.
I’ll carry you west
while you have a little nap.”
Ostrich ran Hummingbird
across the savannah
all the way to the place
where Atlantic meets the land!
This is when Ostrich
first ran so fast!
Hummingbird thanked her,
as off he dashed.
Rejuvenated
from his African nap,
Hummingbird was pleased to see
sunset hadn’t happened.
Passing the Atlantic
like tiny lightning,
he frantically flapped
toward the wide horizon.
He landed in a swamp
at not quite dusk,
just as Salamander
crawled up from the mud.
“Hi, Little Wings.
Glad to meet you.
You can call me Sally.
All my friends do.
“Why are you here?
How long will you stay?”
Hummingbird demurred,
“I’m chasing the day.
That may be changing though,
I’m not so sure.”
This felt devastating
to Hummingbird.
Sally said brightly
“I change all the time!
My buddy Butterfly and I
metamorphosize!
Sometimes I can even
shine my own light.
Maybe you could try it
next time you’re frightened.”
He left Sally there
to her nightly hunt
as he flew through the air
to pursue the sun.
After a while,
he was quite surprised
by the thousand flowers
he’d left behind.
Discouraged,
Hummingbird landed there;
he’d circled the Earth
but gotten nowhere.
He saw Mother Spider
in the heart of her web,
just as his vital energy
ebbed.
Wise Mother Spider
spoke her words
in a troika voice
like none you’ve heard;
one childlike and vibrant,
one ancient and wise,
the third was
a mother’s lullaby…
“Today breaks new,
rises, and dies
when Darkness hides
the yesterlight.
Night abides
the brightening
when Tomorrow dawns
as Today again.”
Offering this,
Mother Spider was still.
Hummingbird pondered
and puzzled, until
he turned to the east,
for the very first time,
to see the luminous
flower moon rise.
Suddenly,
balance came into view
day night
sun moon
strive rest
dark bright
east west
large slight
cling release
sky earth
offer receive
death
rebirth
Hummingbird rested
at the end of his day…
at the end of his
very elongated day…
so grateful,
as the crescent ascended,
his chasing the sun
had come to an end.
This is why hummingbirds
don’t fly at night;
they choose to renew
in the cool moonlight.
They give up the chase,
let set the sun,
and surrender today
so tomorrow can come.
Lee DeNoya - Norwich NY/Atlanta GA, Oct 2023