I haven't brought down any poetry books from the shelf in a while. I had a few quiet moments yesterday, drinking a cup of coffee, working on a blog post. I happened to look up and there they were, beckoning me to take one down. I chose "Talking to the Wild" by Becky Hemsley. Next to Mary Oliver, she is one of my favorites. It was a good hour before I got back to blogging, reading these lovely poems took over.
You tell me that I'm childish
Seeing magic in the world
That there's no room for enchantment
On this scientific earth
You give me explanations
And you hand me charts and graphs
For you say there can't be magic
In the company of fact
But I'll argue that there's magic
In a new-born baby's cry
And in how that baby heard
Its mother's heart beat from inside.
I'll tell you that it's magic
How a butterfly exists
That there's something most spellbinding
About metamorphosis
There's magic in the differences
Between each flake of snow
And in people finding footprints
From a million years ago
I'll tell you that it's magic
How the tides move with the moon
And how the sun can split a raindrop
Into seven different hues
It's magic how a spider
Weaves a complex fragile web
And how all the words of years of songs
Are stored inside our heads
But you'll tell me there's no magic
For this all can be explained
Yet, to me, there's magic dancing
In the workings of our brains
See, the danger is our knowledge
Means there's little awe to spare
But if we stop looking for magic
Then we'll never see it there.
~Magic by Becky Hemsley~
My photo was taken in Manassas (Virginia), and is an old one from 2009. We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at Bob Evans after running a few errands. As we were leaving the restaurant, we looked up at the sky and this was what we saw. I don't think I have seen a sky like it since, and I look up all the time. This was special enough to make both our mouths drop open. It was glorious! Straight out of the camera taken with a little point-and-shoot.
Wishing you all a great Sunday.
