Yesterday morning,
I saw a lone Sandhill Crane
stalking in the marsh
sounding its rattling call
over and over again
for more than half an hour.
I felt compassion and camaraderie.
This morning, in the same place
there were two cranes standing together,
looking out at the world.
Blessed to have found each other.
I felt joy and relief.
They were a pair, just as we were.
The two of us, over forty years;
looking out at the world,
leaning into the wind,
sheltering from the storms,
watching for rainbows,
basking in sunlight,
resting in twilight,
till death took you away.
In my heart and those two cranes,
we are still together.
Poem by Mary Carson Bumann
Since first learning to read and write, I have loved pencils, paper and the process of writing words. The beauty of their shapes on a page and sounds in speech are to me a form of art. I have embraced words, always with an intention to communicate – bridge the often vast and unknown cognitive and emotional spaces that exist between me and another person.