I follow the trail of feathers,
black, glistening
and there she is, the magpie
flopping among the leaves
struggling with a broken wing
Ah, I think, it’s you,
you who’ve invaded my
songbird nest
your belly full of sweet eggs
she buries her head beneath a wing
you can’t hide, you ravenous thing
I angle away
let the predators have her, I think
as the leaves rustle with
the frantic beating of her heart
It’s her beating heart that
pulls at mine
In one fell swoop
I scoop her up, cradling her
in my palms even while she
stabs my skin with her beak
Calm now, I coo to her, calm now
her dark eye blinks
she settles, nestles in
all creatures, great and small, I recall
All right, God, you have your reasons
they are not mine to question
she sleeps in my palms
as if she’s home and safe
and so she is.
Kathy Lauren Miller 
Lovely, Kathy. All life is equally to be valued.
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Hi Sue and thank you for commenting. Yes, all lives equally valuable in His eyes, even when some think otherwise.
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Another’s beating heart, that’s what gets us.
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Hi thanks for your sweet comment. Yes, it’s another beating heart that moves us to be aware of all life.
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I think it’s the fragility of the beating heart, too.
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Hi Liz, yes, the vulnerability of another’s heart touches our hearts, or least it should.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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This was beautiful Kathy 🙂
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Hi Debbie and thank you for liking my simple effort. The bird in the photo looked so helpless. I know I’d have taken it home.
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Very touching poem.
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Hi Luanne, thank you for commenting and liking my verses. I love birds and basically all creatures.
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