Bird Mudras

The Wisdom of the Chickadee by Tina Romenesko

As I wander the shores of Blackwater Pond,

         contemplating Oliver’s landscape of inspiration

         I find myself immersed in thought.

Everything here seems clearer

         Is it the untrimmable light of Cape Cod?

         The sharp contrast of pine and beech and sand?

                  with water and lily pad and cranberry bog?

My spirit and I reunited in awareness as we walk and listen together.

A homecoming of body and spirit for which I am filled with deep gratitude.

And in the next breath remind myself to remember her

         to remember my wholeness – again and again and again.

A cacophony of jays

squawking and soaring through a corner of the pond

distract me, gratefully, from the circle of my thoughts.

Bringing me back to this path, this pond, the dune, the light –

         This loud and crazy moment.  And then again, silence.

And just as suddenly, another cacophony – but much gentler

The beep and peep of a flock of hungry chickadees and nuthatches

         announcing their presence

         in hopes of receiving a tasty snack.

I pull out my tiny bag of sunflower seeds – as Polly emphatically instructed –

And extend my cupped palm as a bird feeder.

She immediately perches – stuffing her beak with the prized seeds

So light she barely tickles my palm

Her tiny feet – like gentle tweezers made of wood

Another tickle – a peck – and then gone to make space for one of her sisters     

to explore my gentle offering.

I decide to try a photo –

Fumbling for my iPhone with one clumsy hand

         Enter the passcode – choose camera – and shoot.

One photo – and another – and then it hits me –

My hand is in pushpaputa mudra – the hand gesture of an offering.

At the last moment I decide to form Jnana – the mudra of wisdom.

         Thumb and index finger forming a ring.

She jumps on top of my mudra and beeps again – a wise exclamation,

I’m sure

                  in the morse code of bird language. 

She seems to pose – is that a smile?  And then she’s gone.

Her image embedded in my iPhone – and in my heart.

She will soon star on my website –

an inspiration to those who are willing to explore the energy

of crossing and bending fingers

inviting in tiny spirits

and listening to the moment

Perhaps feeling something more than either of us ever expected.