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Fresh Air
by Cindee Snider Re Fresh air is Life experienced -- Touched, seen Heard, smelled, Tasted -- Genuine, abundant, Raw, real In all its messiness and complexity Not neatly, electronically, Through a visual screen. It is damp spring earth scooped With bare hands To receive new plantings, Weeds tugged from the ground, Root-by-stubborn-root, Mulch spread thick and pungent, Into old beds made new, Clean, fresh, Beautiful. It is the swoop and dive of swallows, And half a dozen iridescent dragonflies Darting, Flitting, Flying On gossamer wings, Through the yard Consuming mosquitoes. It is feeders rife with finches, Purple and gold, Nuthatches, sparrows, Black-capped chickadees, And a pair of nesting cardinals, Beauty abundant, So easily missed Amid the more extraordinary -- An oriel perched on an orange rind Mid-migration, Swallowing sustenance for the Miles yet to fly, And Sandhill Cranes, Whose ancient clacking calls Still catch me by surprise, Poster-bird of second chances, Reborn from the brink of extinction. Fresh air is A sliver of sunlight Piercing the clouds Illuminating a cascade of Snow white lilies Cloaked in green, And time Time to be still, Aware, Alive, Awake. Time to smell the rain, And notice the lilies, To catch one perfect, round drop Clinging to the speared tip of A single blade of grass. Time to scoop the earth By hand, And stop to watch the swallows, Listen for the cranes, Time to breathe deeply And experience the Immensity of God In every moment, Every breath, All things, Everywhere. Time to be still And simply know That He is GOD. Cindee Snider Re lives in Sussex, WI with her husband, their five children, two cats, and two Shichon puppies. She enjoys quiet evenings, long walks, good books, homeschooling her kids, and lots of good, strong, hot, black tea. August, 2011 http://www.BreatheDeeply.org Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |