Comings and Goings
Julie Stuckey
The hawk with red tail
swooped in to survey from the old
Metasequoia (once thought to be extinct.)
It commands the back slope, holding up
the Indigo bunting which visits each summer
and warbles from top branches.
Transplanted from China back when
that interior was closed to our interests,
it has thrived here on this hillside, rooted
companionably near its smaller mate
nestled alongside the watershed stream.
And now vultures appear
in their spiraled search for carrion
which means an ending of a life
and sustenance for others.
The myriad greens of summer soothe;
bumblebee hum accompanies
numerous butterflies at a shared communion
among spired purple thistles.
Cacophonous crows amass atop
the streamside snag to announce
a coming storm. The sky darkens and rumbles;
cooling breezes and then winds
refresh the air; thistle-hymn ceases.
This deluge begins, swelling summer’s wet smells.
What, then, can we do, but watch
and listen for the many ways
to be in this world.
swooped in to survey from the old
Metasequoia (once thought to be extinct.)
It commands the back slope, holding up
the Indigo bunting which visits each summer
and warbles from top branches.
Transplanted from China back when
that interior was closed to our interests,
it has thrived here on this hillside, rooted
companionably near its smaller mate
nestled alongside the watershed stream.
And now vultures appear
in their spiraled search for carrion
which means an ending of a life
and sustenance for others.
The myriad greens of summer soothe;
bumblebee hum accompanies
numerous butterflies at a shared communion
among spired purple thistles.
Cacophonous crows amass atop
the streamside snag to announce
a coming storm. The sky darkens and rumbles;
cooling breezes and then winds
refresh the air; thistle-hymn ceases.
This deluge begins, swelling summer’s wet smells.
What, then, can we do, but watch
and listen for the many ways
to be in this world.
Listen to Julie read the poem here:
Working notes
I am especially drawn to writing firmly rooted in the imagery of the natural world; external observation guides me metaphorically. Writing has provided a link to the powerful women who are engaged in making the world a more humane place.
About the author
Julie Stuckey grew up in Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Business/Philosophy concentration, and currently lives in Pawling, New York. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in many literary journals and anthologies, including A Handful of Dust, Amoskeag, Anderbo, Apropos Literary Journal, Blast Furnace, Broad River Review, Dove Tales Literary Journal, Moonshot Magazine, Open to Interpretation/Intimate Landscape, Prairie Wolf Press Review, Seven Hills Review, This Great Society, Verdad, and Wilderness House Literary Review. Several of her poems have received finalist or honorable mention status in various contests.