Came upon me, day by day,
Press conference by briefing by social media posting,
Until I had had my fill of crisis, breaking news, until I felt the
Call of boots and gloves, pruners and shovels,
Equinox sunshine compelling.
The birds at the feeder were ahead of me
An occasional frenzy when I poured black sunflowers seeds
And added another cake of suet,
Their insistent chirps and flutters
Indifferent, still demanding, where’s my lunch?
Resting sometimes on branches
Finding joy in birdsong,
The original tweeters,
In the moment
A lesson to be learned.
Yard projects taken on, me not as driven
Not compelled to get so much done in a day,
Instead the call to be quiet, be still,
Time to see the coming spring
Tiny leaf by tiny flower bud
Me finding time to just
Be.
Lamb dance, goose song, worm crawl,
Weeds pulled, vines pruned, plum tree flowering,
The daily moments of life, sun and moon dance,
Primal rhythms I’ve passed by
Now, time to notice, paying attention
Feeling the beat in all this music around me,
Within the quiet.
–Neal Lemery 3/21/2020
Books: NEW book – Building Community: Rural Voices for Hope and Change; Finding My Muse on Main Street, Homegrown Tomatoes, and Mentoring Boys to Men
