stand still like the hummingbird

I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY!

i rescued a baby hummingbird. i got to hold him in my hand.

pure magic.

(and by the way, yes i stayed in my bathing suit all day and never left the house till nighttime) i found him outside by the rug next to my back door, lying there death-like. but as i gently scooped him up, his eyes were open and heart fluttering. my darling cat daphne was right nearby but i don't think she caught him. i think he stunned himself against the window.

i was home alone. i called pops to come over immediately with a birdcage and i also called a woman who works for Sierra Wildlife and rehabilitates hummingbirds. but she wasn't home and i had to leave a message.

meanwhile the poor little guy was in my craft room, flying toward the ceiling but then landing abruptly on the bookshelf or sliding into my printer. i was frantic.

i tried to make a nest for him in a box but he seemed more comfy in my hand.

darin got home too and with his and dad's help i fed him a little bit of hummingbird nectar. it was so amazing to watch that minute litte tongue darting out hungrily to sip it all up.
my tiny friend.

i bet you never knew hummingbirds were so fuzzy and round.

that's what makes me think he was just a baby.

poor little lost boy.
the wildlife people called me back and said if he was moving his wings and showing signs of upward flight i could release him back in the wild. after spending an hour and a half with him, i gathered up all my cats into the house, locked them in my room, and carried the sweet hummingbird outside and put him in this tree:

and moments later he FLEW AWAY. with that pure frenetic hummingbird energy, away over the rooftop and into the sky. i truly hope he found his nest and family again and that he keeps going for a long time. they are really very fragile. but he was such a luminous and vibrant little creature and i feel blessed to have been so close to a hummingbird.

no wonder pablo neruda wrote a poem for them.

here are the last few lines of "Ode to the Hummingbird":

You are the seed

of the sun,

feathered

flame,

miniscule

streaming

banner,

petal of silenced races,

syllable

of buried blood,

plume

of the ancient

submerged

heart.