Susan Taylor Brown - In My Backyard

In My Backyard
by
Susan Taylor Brown

iridescent wings dip, dive
between branches
of the scraggly Toyon bush
not yet six feet tall

pointed beak
weaves bits of moss
with spider webs
tucks in a single strand of grass
a dainty dandelion seed
then flies away

cat quiet, I creep
peek
stare
compare
tiny nest cradles
tiny eggs, two
no bigger than my thumb

whirling wings
hum hello
now go
she settles, spreads
herself atop the eggs
watches me
watching her

the wind blows, blustering
never flustering her
she sways a branch dance
keeping safe
tiny nest
tiny eggs
where rainbows wait to hatch

© Susan Taylor Brown. All rights reserved.

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I've known Susan Taylor Brown and her poetry for a few years online and off. Her novel in poems, Hugging the Rock, is a moving, wonderful read, and her poems and blog entries over time have been everything from jaw-dropping to helpful to fantastic to motivating with a few other stops in between. The common trait, I think, is that I react to what Susan writes - it's not, for me, a passive process, and that's a really good thing.

Susan's poem and the photo you see here are part of something unfolding in Susan's backyard (no surprise!) right now and on Facebook and elsewhere for the rest of us. She's brought the situation to life so fully that I care about this single hummingbird who should truly have no place in my life. I check Susan's Facebook feed to see what's new. I get excited when there are updates. And darn it, I'm emotionally involved. That is, for me, all about the power of her writing, and just one reason why I'm so happy to have Susan Taylor Brown here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.

Yesterday, we had Steve: A Cautionary Tale from Bruce Coville. Tomorrow, Field Trip from Ron Koertge! For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along, please click here.