Now and then, when you especially need them,
love gifts you with reminders of life’s tender Yes.
Take, for instance, my discovery today—a long one,
filled with necessary tasks after a night of slight sleep.
Just as the sun was about to set, an impulse sent me
outside to drink in the evening’s light and spring air,
and then whispered to me, “Look in the hedges.”
And there it was, a robin’s nest, magnificently crafted,
cradling four perfect eggs, blue as turquoise.
Imagine the instinctual skill required to find and carry
precisely right pieces of straw, making trip after trip,
and winding them round and round to form a perfect nest,
and then to transport bits of mud to build a protective bowl
strong enough to weather the winds and keep your babies
safe and warm as you flew in bits of food, trip after trip,
until the wee ones were big and brave enough to fly.
At the sight of it, all my complaints gave way to wonder
and to a wish that I, too, might perform my necessary tasks
with the grace and skill of a little mother robin.