When I hoped I feared,
Since I hoped I dared;
Everywhere alone
As a church remain;
Spectre cannot harm,
Serpent cannot charm;
He deposes doom,
Who hath suffered him.
Emily Dickinson
I know I’ve been posting an awful lot of birds lately; believe me, I’m the first one to go “huh?”.
Indulge me with one more. I just love this little guy sitting on a post in the middle of the ocean. Do birds ponder their existence? Who knows!
I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately, so that might explain why I’m drawn to these kinds of images. Anyway, it’s those two opening lines I’ve highlighted that speak to me here. They capture both the fear of daring to do something, and the hope it brings.
Check out other interpretations of the minimalist theme at the Weekly Photo Challenge.
I dunno. They’re just there. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit messing with me a little. He knows I get a kick out of that.
Anyway…the birds. This heron has been a lone wolf around these parts as far as I can remember. One day he showed up and hasn’t left. Just the one. Well, once there were two, but usually it’s one. I can say this, he’s faithful to his little spot. There’s a branch that has made something like a sandbar in this little lake, and every morning he’s out there like a sentinel, just hanging out.
This morning was the first real cold morning of the season. The lake, on these mornings, reminds me of a scene out of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” when the narrator describes “the sullen waters of the tarn.” That’s my literary background creeping in on a gloomy morning.
Add the bird and you get a little character in there. There’s something about him that I like. Maybe it’s his constancy. Or his style. He’s pretty regal as he stands there, motionless. Or maybe it’s because he seems a little out of place. Maybe, he’s just hanging out there because he knows I appreciate him for no other reason than he’s there every morning.
There’s something to be said for presence.
