Curled up with pillows, quilt, books, pens and the cat at my feet I felt as if I was nesting in the December sunlight. I remember when Zoë was little and energy was low making a nest out of couch cushions and quilts, then feathering it with books, markers, snacks and music was a favorite thing to do. As the afternoon wore on I listened to a podcast and drew the tree branches thinking about line, pattern and views. I then noticed a nest high in the maple tree. Earlier in the day I had read a short essay about bird nests in the back of a magazine. The essay talked about the idea of nesting in modern culture which means outfitting our permanent homes and making them comfortable and cozy. But if you look at bird nests we realize they are more about living on the planet lightly. Bird nests demonstrate ingenious balance in their use of materials and the architecture of space for the inhabitants.
Choices
--By Tess Gallagher
--By Tess Gallagher
I go to the mountain side
of the house to cut saplings,
and clear a view to snow
on the mountain. But when I look up,
saw in hand, I see a nest clutched in
the uppermost branches.
I don't cut that one.
I don't cut the others either.
Suddenly, in every tree,
an unseen nest
where a mountain
would be.
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