Listen

All American Daylily 'Lady Lucille'

Listen

Listen to the squeak of the nuthatch

and the ceiling fan stirring the thick morning air.

A cardinal whistles nearby,

then the familiar,

tick, tick, tick.

Listen to the lonely coo of the mourning dove

and the buzz-hum of the hummingbird.

She darts by, then stops on a dime,

in mid-air, her wings a blur.

Then gone again, as fast as she came.

Listen to the chickadees complaining down by the dogwood,

or is it the titmouses?

I can’t be sure.

Listen to Melvin’s feet on the gravel path,

making his morning rounds.

A small plane drones overhead, faintly, then stronger, then fades away.

And in the quiet, between the sounds, God speaks.

I listen.