The Thrasher
It was dead in the bike lane
stiff from spirit’s leaving.
I pedaled past but couldn’t
leave prayers unsaid.
Couldn’t leave without words
honoring the brown and white
feathers and beauty once ensouled
in a small body capable of flight.
I scooped her up, head resting
on padded glove, fingers free
to feel the exquisite softness of
feathers now covering a lifeless form.
I took her down the hill to the small grove
of live oaks, somehow spared the
developers dozer.
A fork in the sturdy tree became
the final resting place for the
innocent thrasher.
I hope there was no nest
of hungry babes awaiting
the next feeding.
And if so may their hunger
be sated by a swift and sweet
passage into that other world
of Spirit where all is well.
Simone Lipscomb
For the Thrasher on the Beach Highway, Orange Beach, Alabama
One of my FaceBook friends posted to go look at the moon….NOW when the moon was rising. I ran outside after wrapping myself in a blanket.
It was rising in the east over the gathering of cows nestled under the ancient live oak trees. I stood at the fence, almost within their herd, and witnessed a spectacular full moon rising, orange and huge in its supermoon status. As I stood in silence, the munching of hay could be heard amongst the herd. The bovines made it feel so much more powerful with their black coloring and the energy of mothers and calves…and their general deep groundedness.
A calf mooed in the distance, calling for its mom. A large bat flew overhead, silent in its passing a few feet over my head. The shuffling of hooves on grass and hay could be felt through the ground. It was as if I stepped into another dimension of amplified sensation and experience.
I started singing a song about the moon and one of the cows walked over to the fence. She started moving to the song, not exactly dancing but did some strange twisting and turning that didn’t appear to be related to giving birth or scratching an itch… but who knows . The other songs I sang seemed to equally appeal to her.
This is a time of strong energy, of change and movement, as spring brings us to a time of new beginnings. I welcome these beginnings and the adventures that await.
As I sang and danced under the moonlight, under the limbs of magnificent oaks, I felt connected to the lineage of women who have walked this Earth as change-makers, healers, lovers of life. Let us arise and awaken to beauty within and around us.
May the first rays of dawn warm your face as the sun rises on a new day and may they inspire you to know the light burning in your heart.
May the first drops of dew kiss your bare feet and clear your past of all that troubles you.
May a fresh wind carry away your heartaches and give you new perspective on your beautiful life.
May you know the strength of your ancestors and feel it in your bones.
May the beauty of nature guide you deeper into communion with all life.
May your eyes see the suffering of the world with compassion.
May you know the beauty of your soul and allow it to shine brightly.
When time sits heavy on your shoulders and the days seem void of joy, may your breath lead you to the calm, quiet place of stillness that lives within your core.
On the other side of the threshold lies unlimited possibility. I see an endless sky filled with stars and a single, brilliantly huge star leading the way home—hovering like a diamond in the night sky over mountains calling me home. The embrace of those ancient mountains calls me hometo myself…to frolic in my own freedom.
