The Hope of a Bird's Song ~ by Marj Ivancic

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I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

We are nearer to Spring 

Than we were in September,

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

This poem by Oliver Hereford is one of my favorites. It’s a simple verse, but its eight lines are full of instruction and hope.

Be in the moment, it says to me.

Listen with your heart, not your ears.

Take the time to soak up the joy of life, the wonder that resides in all the small, seemingly inconsequential things in our lives that we take for granted.

The purr of a cat. 

Your loved one’s voice. 

A warm bed on a cold night. 

A glass of good bourbon. 

The moon.

Savor these things. Roll about in them. Commit them to memory. Wear them like a charm about your neck. They will ward off the shadows and comfort you through the long night. 

But should you stumble and lose your way in the darkness,

remember that the light is not so very far away. Spring sits on the other side of winter. Morning cannot happen without night. If you keep moving forward, you will come out on the other end of things. Life is a wheel, rolling. Sometimes we are on its downturn, others on the upswing. The trick is to hold on and not let go.

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I dedicate this post to The Unbreakable Girl. 

I cannot read this poem without thinking of you.