‘She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what … – America: The Jesuit Review

Is what I thought when the hummingbird buzzed behind me in the garden, The beating of its wings tickling my ears and seizing my heart as I wondered at the sound, Me on my knees with my hands in the earth, caught unaware by the flicker of its jeweled collar As it flashed in the sunlight, disappearing into a zipper in the sky Before I could catch my breath and behold its beauty.

I am eager for it to reappear, but only catch glimpses before I decide That the only way it will come to me is if I am still. That is the only way to gain its trust. I force myself to slow, to slow and wait, and my mind wanders

To that mysterious creature, and I wonder if this is indeed the fairy of lore That appeared to simple minds as they walked through the forest in search of Berry treasure while ever wary of danger, or if these were the spirits Like the kind worshiped in the days of pantheism and ritual sacrifice, Or even the era of spontaneous generation, When one saw flickers of sparks pass by and swore it must be magic, but

Perhaps the angel Gabriel was in fact a hummingbird, and when he spoke to Mary It was not with words but the beating of wings, humming a song, a promise, a secret, The same way that a hummingbird whispers new blessings into the ear of each and every Flower blossom it visits

But as I consult the internet during my meditation, I am informed that there are no hummers at all in the Middle East, Though their closest counterpart might be the Palestine Sunbird, Which hovers to sip nectar but is not at all as graceful

Though this does not deter my theory, but instead makes it all the more spectacular, And therefore, all the more believable, That God sent a tiny angel with a chinstrap made of feathered jewels, Shimmering there in the candlelight As it divulged to one girl The greatest secret in the universe

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'She was startled by what the angel said and tried to figure out what ... - America: The Jesuit Review