A Mother Bird's Lament

This morning I woke to the singing of birds, even before the light of day. As I lay half awake, I thought about the importance of singing while still in the darkness; of praising before the sun begins to shine. The birds seemed to be responding to the hints of dawn with loud song, celebrating a new day. Just a few hours later, the sound of their happy chirping changed. With a loud BANG on the glass window pane, I knew another bird had realized the reflection of trees to be a mirage. It's been happening a lot lately, in fact many times a day. Often the dazed bird lays quiet and then flies away. Loud chirping suddenly changed into cries of distress. The urgency was unmistakable. Like a mother recognizing her baby's hunger cry, I knew something was different. I got off the couch and imagined a bird struggling and crying in pain. "Oh no", I thought. "What am I going to find? How will I be able to help if it's injured?" Stepping out onto the p...