Offered by Marie Mc Guigan
Soul's Bird by Fiona Owen
Poem
Soul’s Bird
That bird you found
on the side of the road –
you brought it home,
put it in the rabbit hutch,
and fed it each day while
its wing mended.
Now it’s ready, you weep
for the way things always leave –
but
when this bird finds its flight
when this bird after your tending
flies first onto the branch
then the roof then up
into the sky and away
and your heart floods
with its myriad wishes,
that is the time
to lift your hand
and raise your voice
to call after it
not
‘come back’
stay with me for ever’
but
‘yes!
fly!
For what am I
but a bird?
Wish me the same!’
Written by Fiona Owen
Reflection
I cleared a space and sat with how this poem landed in my body. Memories of my children growing up and leaving home came, with something like a sense of loss, letting go. A few deep breaths came resonating with the words love and loss. I just said hello and welcomed this whole felt sense bringing a caring loving presence to it. Then something like “a settling” comes “a settling down” “ease”. I welcomed and nurtured this – checking if there was more before I ended. The phrase “cycle of life” came accompanied by a deep breath and a felt sense of “comfort”.
Marie Mc Guigan
4/5/26
