Eye to Eye

The hummingbirds are bellying up to the bar these
days — I imagine getting ready for the long flight to
their other home across the Gulf of Mexico. As much
as I love watching them hover at the nectar tray, I feel
a pinch of dread, too, because this incessant feeding
means the time for them to migrate is encroaching,
and they will be gone soon.

Recently, I was at the screen door to the deck looking
out, when one of the little ones, wings ablur, hung just
outside where I stood and swiveled around to look me
right in the eyes.

I don’t know if the little bird were male or female, not
sure if those round eyes were brown or black.

What I do know is that warmth spread through me as
we gazed at each other. And as the moment held us,
suspended together, the unmistakable presence of
innocence bloomed in the air between us and around
us.

Unbidden. A surprise.
Really?
But yes, oh, yes.
Of course.