It was carried on the breath of Robin’s song
Like sheer silk skirts
Of some exotic dancer
Easing down upon me
As the cascading warble erased the present moment
Ushering memory through the complex melody
The past, the felt sense of
My eight-year-old body was in me now
No longer limited by my
Hip stiff walking
My 74-year-old assemblage of cranium, torso, limbs
And titanium
Robin – the transmitter of cellular recall
The scent of apple blossoms
A carpet of nearly translucent white petals
Browned by the careless steps of my eager young feet
The compendious mandala of
Interwoven sturdy branches
Over head
That created a temple for my thoughts
My father stands next to the hulk of the mighty apple tree
Pounding long nails securing 2X4’s
Long enough to extend on either side
So that my chubby tennis shoe clad feet
Could mount them board by board
Fingers, nails bitten down to the nub
Dug into the craggy folds of the bark
As I pulled my soft body up, grasping for branches
Until I reached the cradle of the first bifurcation
And paused
Boards, one by one, I hauled up to the gnarly horizontal branches
Holding tight to a plastic blue bucket heavy with nails and a hammer
Somehow never letting go of the bucket’s bail
I laid out my design, each board supporting the other
Never questioning my competency
Or the safety of my patchwork quilt of board and batten
In the un-noticed background
The anthem of the Robin’s song
Wove itself into my memory
As tactile sensations braided themselves into my mind
My imagination morphed each
Sliver rich board
Into exotic shelter and secret gardens
How many summers was I young enough to believe
Surrounding myself with blankets, books, pencils and notebooks
Writing crude clues of dreamy illusions
Forgotten but not.
Until today. When she sang again.
Tender memories unfurled
A magic carpet for me to take
To a different part of me – a thread to follow
Still with my stiff hipped gate
Yet feeling that tree house girl
Recognizing she is still here
Still finding canopy temples
Still carrying her books, pens and notebooks
Searching for the inspiration and magic
And still hearing the Robin sing – “I knew you then.”
Janet Elizabeth Hartwick Sterk
June 2024
nancy h weiman
Wonderful. I felt it too…. I don’t have the robins here at this time of year, but the chickadees, wren’s, various woodpeckers, bluebirds and thrush all sing their songs. I love to watch them, now with their young, teaching them the ways of forest life.
Thanks Janet…. Someday when I get to MN, I would love to talk to you and enjoy your presence. It might be as soon as August!
In the meantime I will enjoy the presents of your poetry!
HealingJourneys
I loved reconnecting with you Nancy – at the reunion. I would welcome an in-person visit. Thank you for the wonderful words and sharing of your messages from nature. August is busy with family at my cabin but maybe something will work out.
Be well, and keep celebrating life.
Debra Palmquist
Janet,
I like how you recall the younger you and use the sound of a robin’s call to get us to join you in the reflection. Tender memories unfurled, A magic carpet for me to take, To a different part of me – a thread to follow.
I also love seeing that confident 8-year-old “Never questioning my competency, or the safety of my patchwork quilt of board and batten. A tree house girl who writes. Some things don’t change over time! Lovely.
HealingJourneys
Thank you Deb. As we know, it is a joy to find the path connecting all our parts, through our words – let the muse inspire us. So grateful to travel with you on this journey.
Rebecca J Tollefson
Lovely
HealingJourneys
Thank you Rebecca!
marilyn mayry
When present evokes past and memories come alive, we are gifted with life’s great circle. You capture it here. Love your remembering and the bringing together of it All.
HealingJourneys
Thank you Marilyn, you say it so beautifully!
Kim
Love that this, too, brought me back to the magical wonders of my childhood that I still relish and savor in memory and current actuality.
🙏🏻
HealingJourneys
Thank you Kim! I have been hearing so many people comment on how this brought them back to memories of their own. I love that. Thanks for leaving a comment.