A big cardinal feeds on the deck, having taken the place of the red-winged blackbird who dined there a few moments ago. If cardinals are indeed the spirits of lost loved ones, I have been getting plenty of visits from lost loved ones lately, and I take some comfort there.
It’s quiet today — almost TOO quiet, as the old cliche goes — and Summer must agree, for she growls and tugs at Dejah’s collar, and now the battle is on, bared teeth and all.
Where is the whatever-it-is-I’m-waiting-for? Why did it disappear in the first place? And what shall replace it in our unknown future? Or — is the future really so unknown? Are we doomed to repeat the same past over and over, each time with a different set of clothes? Are the same old passions lingering beneath the surface and waiting to rise again, filled with the same hot fever of centuries past?
Is it time to rediscover the same three chords that powered rock and roll, with that one minor chord on the side to give it some unexpected depth? Sometimes a short break is all that we need to be refreshed, and sometimes a long deep sleep is the real answer. What will do the trick this time? What does this moment need?
The dogs pant in anticipation, and I’m afraid I’m just the fool with the kibble.
No, I don’t think I should put the pen down just yet, not with this uncertainty — I can feel some sort of inspiration inside, dying to come out — no, not dying but on the verge of bursting.
I look out the window overlooking our backyard and see a small angel statue overlooking the graves of a half-dozen beloved cats from over the years, and an old bird feeder that tumbled next to the angel during the recent high winds that brought a cold front in.
And I see that in my own backyard I see the elements of all that I need, just like Dorothy Gale returning from Oz with a new appreciation of home. Still, the journey was necessary to show her what she needed to learn, and let’s face it, there’s no place like home but Oz was pretty amazing, too. Admit it, Dorothy, you’re glad to be home but more glad for the weird trip that brought you there and back.
