I wrote this poem for the creative challenge Paul Brookes is running on his blog as part of the Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days of Wild. Yesterday the snapper came to visit, her first day out of the city since she was born all of six weeks ago. Paul posted the poem here along with the other contributions, poetry and artwork.
Baby waking
Six weeks old
her first day outside the city
grizzling after the long journey
I carry her across the meadow
beneath the trees by the stream.
I hear the grizzle change
to crooning chirrups weaving
among the bird songs
the feathered calls
and the burble of the water.
She lifts her head
eyes entranced by leaf movement
the dappled sky
light on green
oh the flash of wings.
There is wonder even now
scarce left the womb
eyes barely focused on the world
and already the world is wild—
the trees have claimed her.
Jane Dougherty Writes 
This is so touching. I was right there with you. Would you have let me hold that sweetie if I really had been?
You’d have to ask her parents, but I’m sure they would have done. Another pair of arms is always welcome xx
How long did you spend with her. You say it was her first trip out of her house, but had you been to her house to visit or did coronavirus make that unwise?
We went to see her when she was just over a week old. We didn’t stay long because it’s a small apartment and some of our other children invited themselves too as they live quite close. It was pretty crowded.
They came for the day on Sunday and it was much more relaxed.
You must have felt so overwhelmed holding that extension of yourself in your arms. Wonderful.
The strange thing is that I don’t see her as being much to do with me. I never felt that way about my children either. They are all and always have been very much themselves. The baby looks like her father more than anyone, though he is very dark. Occasionally I see an expression of my son’s that was and expression of my dad’s. Just little flashes of light in the gene pool 🙂
Infant joy! Beautiful picture 😊
She’s a real sweetie pie 🙂
Awww–she’s smiling and so alert. Lovely! I had a strong feeling you were seeing her yesterday. Of course. 😀
I sort of assumed you’d know 🙂
💙
She’s beautiful Jane.
She’s a dote 🙂
See how fast they grow! Beautiful! 🙂
They do. She has a lot of aunts uncles and cousins cheering her on 🙂
Love those precious moments.
It brings it all back. Very intense experience.
She’s so beautiful. Amazing to see their fresh wonderment at the beauty of the world 🙂
She’s a lovely baby. It’s a shame we lose that wonderment, or get it knocked out of us at school.
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
What a lovely poem! One that I hope you’ll share with her someday. Goodness, I just had a thought of how wonderful it would be for her to know that you wax poetic about her 🙂
And she’s so adorable … I love her little outfit!
Thanks Marie. I hope she won’t mind, that’s all 🙂 There’ll no doubt be a period from around age 12/13 until 17 or so when she’ll be profoundly embarrassed!
Especially when you pull out the baby photos that you shared with the poems 😉
Oops. I know, but by the time she’s old enough to object, WP, social media, maybe even computers might be things of the past 🙂
How precious!
She is 🙂
I’m smiling. (K)
6 weeks already? What a cute baby.
She laughs a lot, and you’d swear she was trying to sing sometimes.
Who knows.
She is so a wonderful one! I think you will have a lot of fun with her, like her face expression is showing. 😉 Let me ask, why you are calling her “snapper”? Michael
She often looks as though she’s trying to talk 🙂
Snapper is what babies are called sometimes in Ireland.
Oh, I didn’t know about Snapper. Thank you Jane! Just wait until she can talk. 😉
Or grows teeth 🙂