The Sparrow Knows
In springtime, when she flew in with twigs and
brittle leaves in tow did she know?
When she lined the inside of that sprig bowl
with soft grasses and downy feathers, did she know?
When she strained to push out fragile helplessness,
all dappled in brown, did she know?
And when she settled in atop waited
for life to crack out the sides, did she know?
Did she know of the searing, consuming fire soon would fall
so close to the kindling that formed her walls?
Did she know of the smoldering wrath?
Did she know of blood that would cascade?
Did she know of life one would lose?
Did she know of loss that was yet to come?
Had she an inkling of the danger
of building nests and birthing babes
in the shadow of a blazing altar?
Or, in finding home in His dwelling place,
did she see only the refuge?
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
::
Reposted from the archives.
Oh Lyla, this is really lovely. What an image you have painted with your words. I have a tender spot in my heart for birds, just filled all my feeders yesterday and waiting for them to come back after being empty so long. But you have given me new perspective on these verses, and it is gorgeous.
2012/04/30 at 7:40 AM
The poor birds around my place just have an unfortunate habit of trying to fly into my living room. Poor things.
2012/04/30 at 6:59 PM
A place near the altar. Yes.
2012/04/30 at 7:54 AM
This is beautiful, Lyla, in a sad/scary/terrifying kind of way. I don’t think there’s a mama bird out there for whom safety for her little ones doesn’t way heavy on her heart. And yet, my ideas of safety are so inadequate.
Only near the altar.
2012/04/30 at 11:36 AM
Becomes a question of scary by degrees, I suppose. It’s terrifying there in the shadow of an altar, and yet by comparison, she’s exposed to untold danger anywhere else.
2012/04/30 at 7:01 PM
When I read the poem part, I thought it was about a mama bird bringing babies into this big, scary, broken world. Then I read the Psalm, and that brought out a whole other meaning to the poem. I hadn’t expected that. But really, my original interpretation and then the psalm interpretation have more in common than not, don’t you think?
2012/04/30 at 3:22 PM
I think they do — that same scary place she nests her young, it’s the place where we find comfort and refuge. It’s crazy. But true.
2012/04/30 at 7:02 PM
i love soft grasses and downy feathers.
2012/04/30 at 3:25 PM
Oh, my heart is there! I prayed someone would move into a new house we put in the yard this year. Delighted when a couple of warblers chose the dwelling, I’ve been following developments. They crack me up when they gather a mouthful of white dog hair to line their nest. Bearded birds? Now I hear the little ones, as the parents feed. I wonder if all will live. God knows. He cares, even for these. My heart is there.
2012/04/30 at 7:42 PM
Love that picture of the birds using the dog hair, Diana. It’s brilliant though, isn’t it? Soft and warm against those bristly twigs?
2012/05/01 at 6:26 AM
wow…….Psalm 84 is one of my favorites–to be near His dwelling place. What a juxtaposition of images. You’re amazing!
2012/04/30 at 8:35 PM
Thanks, Jody. I love 84 too. Spent nearly a month in this Psalm a couple of years ago (I tend to stay in one place… a lot) while the words said something different, something new, something I hadn’t seen before every day. This was from one of those days.
2012/05/01 at 6:27 AM
So this a repost, eh? See? You’ve been a poet all along! This is truly wonderful, Lyla. Startling, wonderful connection to the psalm. Thank you. (That one is a favorite of mine, probably because we sang Brahms’ setting of it in high school choir – and I swear I had a religious experience every single time we did it. Soaring melodic lines with those gorgeous words…oh my.)
2012/04/30 at 10:05 PM
Hmm. I guess I hadn’t thought of it as poetry until you all started calling it that in the comments… When I posted it this time I broke up the long lines with line breaks, but as Rabbit would say, “It isn’t meant to be!”
The words of 84 are a deep kind of powerful, Diana. I think it’s difficult to even skim them and not have them prick in some way.
2012/05/01 at 6:33 AM
Fascinating. The forms of Christianity I’ve known best often seem to me unduly limited in incorporating nature into faith and spirituality. This creative work of you, scripture & the Spirit contributes to bridging the gap that creates. Very cool. Thanks.
2012/05/01 at 1:28 PM
I hope the poor bird did not know what was in store for it.
2012/05/01 at 3:53 PM
And then from the song (and my life verse) . . .
One thing I ask,
And I would seek,
To see Your beauty
To find You in
The place Your glory dwells
(One thing I ask)
One thing I ask
And I would seek,
To see Your beauty
To find You in
The place Your glory dwells.
Flattens me every time.
Some bird has insisted on building a nest over my son’s porch, right next to a ceramic owl. He knocked it down several times, but she kept coming back. He’s decided to let her have her way.
2012/05/03 at 7:42 AM