The rare earth elements perplex us in our researches, baffle us in our speculations, and haunt us in our very dreams. They stretch like an unknown sea before us mocking, mystifying and murmuring strange revelations and possibilities.
William Crookes
Murmur
The Creator said,
“I will make a tiny bird
the color of night
speckled with stars,
this starling
will learn to speak in many voices -
confusing to his enemies,
delightful to his friends.
He will multiply and spread
Across the earth.
Men will name him ‘pest’, and ‘invader’
farmers will call him ‘menace’ -
all will drive him from their lands.
But for his protection,
I will give this beloved,
mischievous bird
the gift of synchronous flight -
When danger threatens -
he will rise
with thousands of his kind
spinning and circling
dancing and weaving
carving and twisting
in formations
mimicking the creation
and dissolution of galaxies
darkening the sky -
a dismay to his enemies,
a wonder to his friends -
each little bird
on his own path
in harmony
with the flock
a murmuration of sound
and movement.”
And when he watched
their first flight,
the Creator said,
“It is good.”
To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of all creation as oneself.
Mahatma Gandhi
If you haven’t ever seen a murmuration of starlings, this video on YouTube is amazing.
Also check out the beautiful work of photographer Soren Solkaer on starlings and their murmurations here: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/tags/soren-solkaer/
If you want to hear a sample of the variety of sounds a starling can make, check out @inkydragon (artist, Sarah Tidwell, who rescued a starling she calls “the mouth”) on Instagram. Here’s a link if you don’t have instagram or don’t want to follow: the mouth
The creation theme was inspired by a writing class I’m taking from tricycle.org called “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” and my genuine awe of the amazing abilities of these little birds I see everywhere, and am only just now really beginning to appreciate.
Hope you have a great week. See you next Friday!
