Adapt
by Nikki McDaid
Today
Warmth on our skin in the cold season
How will we all adapt?
Will some plants bloom and die early from the coming cold?
What does that mean for our interconnectedness?
“My advice for you is to never get a divorce” says a heart hurting from moving children away from mothers
I heard woodpeckers drumming
The first audible rhythm from them I’ve heard in a while
sending messages of swift and noticeable change
They remind me of
deheya hide & honor songs
southern style voices
& hearts beating in tempo
looks of knowing
& sweet cuddles with my child
The drum reminds us to listen to the birds
He pointed out flicker
and it took me a minute to find them
Perched upright in the top of an oak tree –
the kind that red squirrels had brought my attention to earlier as they raced after each other up the elder’s thick trunk
Flicker stayed there a moment, then flew over us –
I watched until they were out of sight
I tried to tell the children but he hushed me
Three crows called as they flew over
slowly sailing on currents of wind
I tried to tell the children but he hushed me
They flew in a circle but hovered for a moment four times as they acknowledged the four directions
They remind me of
Strong drumbeats & change
Seedpods from trees as gifts &
defying simple beliefs
Remembering the songs
&
ceremony
We moved in the four directions
We knew we were meant to grow together
What of us now?
Seagull flew over again and again
Tell him
Tell him
Tell him
tell
who
what?
who do I tell this to?
As we were leaving, woodpecker called softly
as if to remind me that this change can move slowly
If we let it
Adapt
