Another Reason to Love the Birds at My Feeder
for Sue
I didn’t speak to you today
or any day for the past almost year.
That tears at me
even while I smile
at the plethora of finches
bursting purple at my feeders.
I yearn to remind you
how you were the one
who taught me about black oil sunflower seeds–
among so many other things.
How you enriched the view outside my window.
How each bird’s arrival still feels
like a gift from you.
How much I miss you
every
single
day.
©Molly Hogan
Buffy Silverman is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup with some lovely poems and photographs celebrating the nature she finds around her home. Check out all the goodness here.
Nix the comfort zone 
Another touching tribute to Sue. Does her family get your blog? If not, please send it to them. They’ll be touched and most appreciative.
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Thanks, Dan. I did send a link to her daughter, who appreciated it.
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Yeah!
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My dad’s birthday was yesterday. He’s been gone almost thirty years. I still long to share my news with him. He has missed so much…I still miss him so much…
All this to say that your poem, like Amy LV’s, has given me onion-juice eyes today.
Thank you for this reminder to cherish the gifts given us by those who have gone ahead.
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“onion juice eyes” Is just right, the eyes that tear up but don’t drip. Thirty years can feel like a moment when you’ve lost an important part of your life.
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Sending a hug your way–I’m pretty sure the heart doesn’t measure time like we do. My mom died almost 42 years ago and sometimes it feels like yesterday.
My dad and I talked birds a lot, too. So many memories alight when the birds visit.
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Beautiful Molly. You inspire me. Cathy
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Thanks, Cathy! Looking forward to seeing you both before too long!
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“each bird’s arrival …a gift from you.” I understand that longing and loss. The prothonotary warbler is back, the one who flapped at my window last May during my deep grief. He belongs here now. I think of my dad every time I see him. A gift. A blessing.
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Such a vibrant, beautiful bird to bring such a lovely message of comfort!
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This poem is bursting purple at my heart. (Anniversary of my father’s death yesterday.) Thank you. xo
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Sending a hug your way, Irene.
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What a beautifully sad poem.
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Thanks, Judith!
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As we grow older, it seems there are so many goodbyes and then there are days and things that mark them, like your birds, a gift from your friend. It’s sad, but a beautifully loving tribute, Molly!
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Thanks, Linda. I prefer to focus on the gifts that linger, but anniversaries can pierce through that intention.
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I miss her so much. This is beautiful and I know she’s smiling as she reads it. I have to believe that! ❤️
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I also miss her and her smile, and fabulous laugh, and questions and insights and …..well, you know. I just miss all of her.
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So lovely, Molly. What a wonderful tribute to and way to remember your friend. (Every spring when the wildflowers bloom in my woodland garden they remind me of the friend who gave many of them to me who has been gone (unbelievably) for 7 years.)
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I love thinking of your woodland garden woven with memories of your friend. I have planted bits of my father’s garden in my own and those also bring me great joy.
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Molly, your lovely tribute to your friend is a keepsake for Sue’s family. It is difficult to say goodbye to friends and family. I wrote a poem to my Uncle for him to listen to in his last days but he never heard it until the funeral. When we write from the heart to a loved one who passed on, it brings a spiritual connection.
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Though I’m sorry you weren’t able to share your poem with your Uncle while he was living, I’m sure that his family still treasure it.
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The longing, the yearning sings through your poem, Molly. The best I can say is -I get it. I understand that feeling. It arises regularly when certain names are mentioned, sometimes when i am sitting quietly and my mind clears and the memory of somone I held dearly floats by and delivers a gentle recall that washes all over me.
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It is always nice to know that someone understands what you’re trying to express. Thanks, Alan.
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Beautiful poem, Molly. Hugs.
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Thanks, Bridget.
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Ugh, Molly! A beautiful and heart-wrenching poem. It captured me right away with the opening line and reminded me of how important it is to tell people you are grateful for them when you have the chance. I sense that you are hurting. I wish you care and peace.
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Thanks. I was lucky enough to share with Sue how I felt when she was alive–even wrote a blog post for her shortly before she died. Still, as the year anniversary of her death approaches, I find my thoughts turning to her more and more often.
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What a gift that she has left you – to see her in the purple finch, the sunflower, your words.
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Feels like you unzipped your heart and shared it with us–beautiful bird-felt feelings, and the missing really pulls at your heart, thanks Molly!
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Thanks, Michelle. I find so much comfort in the birds.
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Oh, Molly, this is so beautiful and so touching and sad. Grief is a long journey.
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Thanks, Karen.
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Grief is so personal…and yet this feels like my grief too. Hugs.
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Thanks, Linda. Anniversaries do pull me off balance a bit, but I’m planning to go pick strawberries and make jam tomorrow for this one. Sue loved my strawberry jam and making preserves feels like the perfect positive step of remembrance to take tomorrow.
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