West Virginia Highlands Voice

Hummingbird,
you buzz and chirp
zooming on urgent errands
about the yard

You can stop on a dime
to hang in the air
like an unfinished thought

Then zip away, an arrow
flown from yeoman’s bow
your wings so blurred
I wonder if I imagined them

Do you use magic
not feathers
for flight?

One September dawn your bright gaze
will set upon a point unseen
memory of a home
you may have never known

In less time than it takes
to blow a kiss
you’ll be gone
parting the air before you
like a curtain to promise

Hummingbird,
no heavier than a cracker
fueled by nectar and gnats
power yourself to the nation’s edge
and take your leap of faith:
non-stop flight across the Gulf
God willing
and the winds don’t turn against you

Unlikely as it seems
impossibly ordained
we’ll meet again in April
by the back porch door.