Readers Write: Early this Morning

The Island Now
Female Ruby Throat Courtesy of John Osolin

See how perfectly the hummingbird
beats its wings without sound.

How neatly it darts from flower to flower
in full bloom as if it hadn’t moved,
then hovers so still while drinking nectar
as if it doesn’t wish to disturb
the beauty of the air at all.

I never imagined I would know
such a marvelous thing that appears
and vanishes in a flash of sunlight.

Take your racing heart in the face of beauty
with its unfinished stories nestled deep within;
each is like a petal or blossom opening—
a generous outpouring that spreads its light.

Let me never be afraid to appreciate
the beauty of this world.

Stephen Cipot
Garden City Park

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