Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Katie YenSeptember 14, 2023

Is what I thought when the hummingbird buzzed behind me in the garden,
The beating of its wings tickling my ears and seizing my heart as I wondered at the
sound,
Me on my knees with my hands in the earth, caught unaware by the flicker of its jeweled
collar
As it flashed in the sunlight, disappearing into a zipper in the sky
Before I could catch my breath and behold its beauty.

I am eager for it to reappear, but only catch glimpses before I decide
That the only way it will come to me is if I am still.
That is the only way to gain its trust.
I force myself to slow, to slow and wait, and my mind wanders

To that mysterious creature, and I wonder if this is indeed the fairy of lore
That appeared to simple minds as they walked through the forest in search of
Berry treasure while ever wary of danger, or if these were the spirits
Like the kind worshiped in the days of pantheism and ritual sacrifice,
Or even the era of spontaneous generation,
When one saw flickers of sparks pass by and swore it must be magic, but

Perhaps the angel Gabriel was in fact a hummingbird, and when he spoke to Mary
It was not with words but the beating of wings, humming a song, a promise, a secret,
The same way that a hummingbird whispers new blessings into the ear of each and
every
Flower blossom it visits

But as I consult the internet during my meditation,
I am informed that there are no hummers at all in the Middle East,
Though their closest counterpart might be the Palestine Sunbird,
Which hovers to sip nectar but is not at all as graceful

Though this does not deter my theory, but instead makes it all the more spectacular,
And therefore, all the more believable,
That God sent a tiny angel with a chinstrap made of feathered jewels,
Shimmering there in the candlelight
As it divulged to one girl
The greatest secret in the universe

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV greets religious sisters during a meeting with officials and employees of the Roman Curia, Vatican City State and the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 24, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Describing the Curia as the institution that preserves “the historical memory of the church,” Pope Leo called on these Vatican employees to “work together” with him “in the great cause of unity and love.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 24, 2025
Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool, during the pope's meeting with members of the media May 12, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo offered a heartening message for a global media that has endured a pretty awful year.
Kevin ClarkeMay 23, 2025
If you think our enthusiasm for our basketball team was intense, just wait until you see our support for Pope Leo XIV.
Jack DoolinMay 23, 2025
“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 23, 2025