The Bobcat

Loving This World

Photo by Phil Robson on Unsplash

Dear Friends,

This is a poem that arrived on cat’s paws, as I held the both/and of life, the grief and beauty of the natural world.

How many times in the past year have I whispered with my hand on my heart, “oh no”? How many times have I been flattened by joy and lifted by unexpected wonder? We hold it all in balance, not denying what is hard, but always lifting our faces to what shines.

Note: This poem does not give cover to those who might use what happens in the natural world out of interconnected necessity, as a way to justify brutish behavior or cruelty in human relationship. The poem is a way for me to hold the largeness of the natural world with some kind of understanding of the interconnected nature of things - to stay soft when things are hard, to hold the both/and of this life with compassion and grace.

warmly

Carrie

The Bobcat

Standing on my porch
In the silky hour 
Just before the dusk
I caught the flash of something large
Something feline 
Something running at top speed
Across the driveway and down toward the pond.
Recently, I had learned from a neighbor
That a bobcat had taken up residence in our valley
Evidenced by images captured at night
On a motion sensitive trail camera. 
So I knew of it's presence, but had never seen
The sleek and elusive creature. 

The bobcat sped without stopping 
Across the dam and into the woods 
Beautiful, intent, fluid — dangerous.
A few seconds later I heard the sound of a fawn 
Bleating
A woeful sound
A terrible sound
A sound that utterly broke my heart,
A sound that would have grieved any mother who has loved a child.
A sound that made me want to cover my ears or go inside.
And yet I stayed, 
Wordlessly bearing witness, 
My hand on my heart.
Whispering, "Oh no" 
"Oh no" 

For there was nothing to be done
Nothing to do 
But send love
Love to the predator and to the prey
Love to the fawn that had barely tasted this world, 
Love to the doe that would look and not find,
Love for a bobcat doing what bobcats are born to do,
Love for nature that sometimes runs
With leonine and precise movements,
Circling like a Cooper’s Hawk,
As silent as a Barred Owl hunting.

All I could do was love nature 
That is balanced on a knife’s edge
Love  nature that is tender and insistent
As the young wrens that fledged last week,
From their messy nest in the corner of my porch,
Love nature that is as insistent as vines.
Thorny and sweet as wild raspberry bushes,
Love nature that is as gracious and shady 
As a grove of sycamore trees, 
Cool and clean as a freshwater lake,
Mysterious as fossils from creatures now long gone,
Impossible as fireflies and luna moths,

Love this world even when it breaks my heart.
Because to live in this world,
Is to know this world,
With all its terrifying, heartbreaking aspects
And still love
With my hand on my heart whispering 
"Oh no" 
Love this world for all that is as fine and fleeting
As the golden hour at the end of the day,
Soft as the circles made by raindrops on the water.
And bold and audacious as a Carolina Wren
That sits every morning next to my bedroom window
And sings. 

By Carrie Newcomer

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Question

What did this poem bring up for you? Have you ever experienced the what is holy and hard about this world and still chose to love the world? This poem

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Thanks For Letting Me Know

I hope you’ll feel free to like, share or comment on posts…and engaging with one another in the comments. It a beautiful nod of encouragement. Thanks everyone!

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One Inch Photos

a red mushroom in the shape of a heart, a blue butterfly wing I found on the path, and a watchful lizard on limestone.

Music Always Music

This is a video of Jacob Collier singing “I Will Fix You” with a live audience. If you are not familiar with Jacob Collier, he creates improvised choirs with audiences. It’s some transcendent stuff my friends.