Posted by Tyler Kirkpatrick | July 3, 2020
I was recently inspired to write a poem for each day of creation–(which are written as poems themselves). I will be posting a new entry each day. Today: Genesis 1:20-23.
The Fifth Day
Consider the birds of the air Unburdened in freefalling flight It is almost as if God forgot to tell the fifth day creatures of gravity
Broadtailed hummingbirds dart, dash, dance, zip, flit, fling, streak, swim through air from fuschia to fuschia; painted buntings plunge, a blur of color diving before switching direction to resurface on the limb of a tree; falcons float effortlessly on the wind's waves like a spread-eagle snorkeler passively surveying the world below in objective observance.
Salmon soar through open ocean before annual upstream spawning, their very nature seeming to defy nature; angelfish like stunt planes loop, flip, fly in easy freedom as moon jellies hover in haunted weightlessness, suspended above the floor below.
Birds swarm in the waters above like fish in flight Sea creatures swarm in the waters below like underwater aviators, each a reminder of the limits of gravity's persistent pull, nearly every corner of creation now stocked and teeming with life, The Fifth Day.
[1] Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57542 [retrieved July 2, 2020]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dharma_for_one/8111513291/ – Janetandphil
2 Responses
What a beautiful description!
This is very well written. It is good to be reminded of the lovely things in this world, particularly in the present age when all seems to be ugliness and madness. I have never understood why violence and the spilling of blood are considered genuine and authentic, while a kind deed or a beautiful day is not.