Sunday afternoon with Schrody
On the path we always take
Gray and white across the grasses
Feathers still too fresh to blow away
I thought of chickens and the coyotes
Thought I knew what I would find
Then the sunlight caught a rainbow
In a pair of wings we call black
I don’t know what happened there
I don’t know what took the rest
Only that the wings were waiting
And I could carry them somewhere
So I brought you home to Junie
Laid your wings upon her bough
She’s been feeding birds for years here
She would know how to hold you now
I couldn’t change your ending
Couldn’t make that day more kind
But I could give you sky above you
And a place to rest awhile
I said, “I’m sorry that this happened to you”
As I lifted you from the ground
All those colors hiding in your feathers
Shimmered when the sunlight found them
Then I returned to gather up soft down
Carried what my hands could hold
To the shelter of the blue spruce trees
For the wind to take, or the trees to hold
I don’t need to name the hunter
Or make a meaning from the pain
I can leave the question open
And still care for what remains
So I brought you home to Junie
Laid your wings upon her bough
She’s been feeding birds for years here
She would know how to hold you now
I couldn’t change your ending
Couldn’t make that day more kind
But I could give you sky above you
And a place to rest awhile
I plan to visit your wings
When I walk beneath that tree
Maybe they’ll stay where they’re resting
Maybe some feathers will come with me
For now I’ll visit with my sweet friend
See what weather, time, and wings can do
Schrody walking just ahead of me
And the light coming through
I brought you home to Junie
Laid your wings upon her bough
She’s been feeding birds for years here
She would know how to hold you now
I couldn’t change your ending
But I could carry you that final stretch
Give you sky above the branches
And a place for your wings to rest
Gray down among the blue spruce
Rainbow wings in a juniper tree
I’ll come visit you, darling raven
When Schrody walks with me