hummingbird: a ghazal for flightiness
a poem about creature nature + importance of having friends that recognize you
“magical winged thing.” my friend describes my creature nature. “you’re no mere butterfly,” she says. "you're bird. you fly. while... humming". sankofa of the skies, made of feather and light. the only magical winged thing capable of flying forward and backward while singing. while... humming. child of longing; daughter of nostalgia; sister of yearning; always looking back stretching to fetch to grasp at a breath a breath a sighing breath… humming. learning the same lessons over and under. again and again. a 9-life dance fluttered into like a trance. you move like you’ve been here before. careful and... humming. this be your song: beat of life rapped in soft-rapid-movement-blink-of-an-eye flapping forward upwards backwards towards the love of oh the wilding love of it all while... humming.
author's note💌this poem is dedicated to the only friend i still have from high school, Daria <3. it’s so funny that she’s the only friend i still have from high school because when i moved to the suburbs, she was the only person i saw in the hallway and said to myself, “i want to be friends with her.” a year later, we ended up in the same French class, but it would take the whole year for us to start building a friendship. apparently, i was moody and not really approachable the first half of the year, lol. but after a class trip to the MET museum —where a long bus ride serves as a natural site for creating lasting friendships or fated enemies— we were pretty much locked in.
a decade later (feels crazy writing this), the knowing i first felt when passing her in the hallways has only grown stronger. serendipitously, this Hiatus Kaiyote song, “Make Friends”, came on this morning after my playlist ran through and the chorus affirmed: “You don't make friends, you recognize them”.
and that’s the truth, Ruth! lmaooo
also also,out of respect for Native Americans, instead of calling the hummingbird my “spirit animal”, I’ve adopted the language of “creature nature”. me thinks it’s cute. let me know if you have a creature whose nature you feel deeply connected to in le commentsss! or ask a friend what they think! Daria gives me doe vibes so this poem might have a sister in the coming months. look out for it!
‘til the next fresh ‘stack, courageously yours,
nu🧚🏿
just experimented with the ghazal myself and absolutely love your take on it!