While away and walking on a short trail near North Cheyenne Canyon in Colorado Springs I found myself constantly stopping to listen. Seeing a kingfisher would have been nice. A momentary glimpse of a hummingbird heightened my sense of connection with how special the free world is. I’ll come back to that! Just when I thought it was time to turn back I had an encounter. Ahead of me on the path, and intending to cross it, was a half fox half German shepherd. Later I discovered it was a coyote. It was a moment I wanted to share. She knew I would reach for my phone and, as often happens, it felt as though she was gone before she arrived. I’ll never forget it. Experiences like this are like the first time you ride a cycle without support. You just want to extend and share the moment.
I came home to a house in chaos. Building work has rendered our belongings to boxes or makeshift dust covered shelves. Seeking some respite from the mess I ran a hand over some of my less visited books. A copy I picked up in York thirty years ago caught my attention. Selections from Wordsworth, published by J. M. Dent & Son LTD in 1920, I flipped it open and found a comforting poem.
The Sparrows Nest is a short but beautifully written memory of a brother and sister’s discovery of a sparrow’s nest in the trees at the end of a garden. Written as a tribute to his sister and looking back at a moment when all was warm, and well, and in many respects wonder-full.
I mentioned how special the free world is. It’s mid-June as I write this and the birds are making a racket -singing in competition or mimic of each other. I cannot control them. I cannot command them. In truth I cannot contain them. They come at will and sing as they want. All we can do is listen and enjoy… For me the sound of a bird awakens a sense of God’s presence. I wonder if that is because Jesus directed us to, “Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.” Matthew, who recalled and recorded Jesus words here must have often paused at the sight or sound of a bird and thought of that shared moment he had with his beloved friend.
BEHOLD, within the leafy shade,
Those bright blue eggs together laid!
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started—seeming to espy
The home and sheltered bed,
The Sparrow’s dwelling, which, hard by
My Father’ house, in wet or dry
My sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.
She looked at it and seemed to fear it;
Dreading, tho’ wishing, to be near it:
Such heart was in her, being then
A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later year
Was with me when a boy:
She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble care, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
And love, and thought, and joy.
William Wordsworth
Rob Wykes 