The smallest of birds, she rises with the sun.
Wet dew slides off hummingbird’s damp iridescent feathers
welcomed by the thirsty earth.
One thought consumes her as she searches.
She hops from branch to branch, but not a glimmer
of desired sunshine angles through this leafy oak.
That young birch is lush with leaves but its weeping branches
an easy reach. She considers the pink flowering plumeria,
but the baying dogs deter. Her spirits wane.
Flittering over the Spanish adobe, two little eggs
ensconced carefully within her, agile, with hurried beating wings,
bee like she swoops, dropping into our welcoming courtyard.
A hibiscus tree in a hand painted pot rises to kiss her.
Scarlet orange blossoms wrung tight like umbrellas, await her arrival.
She has found the home where she will shelter her fledglings.
The fiercest of scavengers, hummingbird builds a cozy nest
dandelion fluff, twigs from bushes lining the sidewalk
bark pieces, the furry underside of soft leaves
bits of string, spider webs, all cemented with saliva.
In this her kingdom, none of us nears her nest.
When the sacred day dawns, two tiniest of pea size eggs
fill this little home.
A shower of blessings fall upon her hosts.
Eyes shut, huddled together for warmth, beaks eager,
the baby hummers devour this little mother’s meals of bugs,
nectar, insects, as she frenetically shuttles to and fro.
The fledglings begin to grow.
Too soon cries my heart.
Their soft sweet voices invade our senses.
In three swift weeks they flutter their wings
eagerly anticipating the waiting world.
Too soon they are gone.
The empty nest waits patiently.
They say that hummingbirds return to their nests.
My heavy heart waits
impatiently.
Poem by Deenaz P. Coachbuilder
Deenaz P. Coachbuilder writes about nature in all its shimmering kingdoms–plants, animals, winged creatures, miraculous landscapes. She is a photographer, and artist, specializing with oil on canvas and wood. She is the author of two books of poems. Deenaz is an immigrant from India who is multilingual, comfortable in writing in a diverse ethnic mosaic.