Outbound.
Breathe.
It’s the one thing we all must do
every day, every rotation of this planet,
from the time we’re born
or hatched,
tucked into a pouch,
delivered into this puzzling, perfect place—
Just breathe.
Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Breathe.
It’s the essence of this animalian life.
It is what we live for, why we live,
why we can move around
as an animal should and must do.
Yes, we must also eat,
and partake of water.
But we go for hours, sometimes days
without drinking or taking food
but never more than a minute or two
without expanding these lungs,
sucking air into them,
tasting it,
the air.
Just breathing.
Breathing.
We take it for granted,
this breathing, these breaths.
Like so many things we do every day
we don’t think much about it.
It’s a habit, a necessity.
It is what it is.
A necessity.
It’s the essence of this animalian life.
Breathe.
This early morning my dog and I
took breaths together,
sometimes quietly,
heavily at other times.
Panted even.
The air we drew into our lungs
went down sweet, luscious, perfect.
And I thought about it,
our breathing together
pulling in the perfect air,
air as transparent yet vital
as gravity.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Phoebe*
2. Ovenbird
3. Eastern Towhee
4. Tufted Titmouse**
5. Blue Jay** (v)
6. Mourning Dove*
7. American Goldfinch*
8. American Crow*
9. Black-capped Chickadee*
10. Blue-headed Vireo (v)
11. Yellow-rumped Warbler
12. Song Sparrow**
13. Northern Flicker (v)
14. American Robin*
15. Field Sparrow (v)
16. Tree Swallow
17. Savannah Sparrow
18. Northern Cardinal** (v)
19. Downy Woodpecker* (v)
20. Chipping Sparrow**
21. Brown-headed Cowbird (v)
22. White-throated Sparrow (v)
23. Black-and-white Warbler (v)
24. Black-throated Green Warbler (v)
25. Osprey** (v)
26. Broad-winged Hawk
Elsewhere
27. Pine Warbler (v)
28. Herring Gull
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, herring gull, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, ovenbird, pine warbler, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
