Bird (excerpt)It was passed from one bird to another,the whole gift of the day.The day went from flute to flute,went dressed in vegetation,in flights which opened a tunnelthrough the wind would passto where birds were breaking openthe dense blue air -and there, night came in.–Pablo Neruda

The first time I photographed this wall of rock, sand and dirt, it was bare–completely bare–from the top edge of the wall to the water’s edge. The layer of iron-rich soil at the top of the wall was a much brighter orange than it is today, after two decades of fading in the sun. It looked like what it was: a horrible gash in the skin and flesh of Mother Earth, carved by the hungry bulldozers set loose by humankind needing fill for a highway nearby. Today it looks pretty natural; that is, it looks as if it could have…

In his Canticle of Creation, St. Francis of Assisi addressed the sun, moon, and other creatures as his very own siblings: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and so forth. This makes sense to me. Cypress trees can be either brothers or sisters. It depends on their location, size, and “presence.” This one is the largest and oldest growing in Lake Martin near Breaux Bridge, La. (aka Lake la Pointe). To me, from the first encounter, she is not just a sister, but a wise old woman, a crone if you will. So when I needed a title for this photo, I…

Trillium (Trillium ludoviciana) blooms in Louisiana in late February. One of its common names is “Wakerobin,” in keeping with its role as herald of spring. The trinitarian leaves appear first, low to the ground on sunny morning slopes. Then come the dark reddish-purple trinitarian sepals and petals. But don’t tarry. To see them, be in the woods as February turns into March. They will disappear without a trace, leaves and all, no later than the first of April. The shortness of their days in the dappled woodland light does not discourage them. Go back to the same spot next year….

Hurry up and wait. Anticipation tinged with dread. Something old must die. What is it? What familiar thing needs to go? What will be the cost of letting it go? Something new is coming. Will it be a gift or a curse? A challenge or a reward? What stretching of the heart, mind or soul will it require? Could the Star of Bethlehem have been a comet?