Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Sunday, October 23, 2011

"The Dew of Compassion is a Tear ~Lord Byron~

A small bird... saved from my cat.
With feathers too short to fly. It hopped down the path and then, as I scooted it through the fence, trying to save it from Annie, it turned around... and there, as if confronted by a tiny "elephant man", I gasped in horror.
This small bird had no eyes.
Attacked in its nest? A growth that had overcome its face? A deformity of birth? I will never know.
How did this little bird last this long without sight, without feathers... without protection?
Where had it come from? Why was it here, now?
I scooped it up into a colander and walked up the road with it.
Should I put it out of its misery? Should I take it to the local shelter? Let the natural world take care of it?
What should I do?

I cannot tell you what I did... I cannot.
I think that my compassion was not strong enough, or brave enough, to do what the spirit of this tiny creature  wanted. 
I only hope that no one judges me for my decision.
I only hope that this impossible (untold) choice was the right one.
Maybe there was no right decision ...
Beautiful little creature, deformed and alone, only you know.
... Only you.

12 comments:

  1. Who is to say why we have our pain, some deeper than others, far deeper. Who is to say how we might help. I think I would have done the same.

    ReplyDelete
  2. a towhee! We had those in Dunsmuir, but haven't seen one here (we have the other kind, the plain brown ones). I'm sorry. Those decisions are always hard, and one does what one thinks is best at the time. I'm just glad you take the time to care and post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. sad...sad...i feel sorry for the bird...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm sorry that you had to deal with such a difficult decision. Nature is so cruel.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh darlin'... No one has the right to judge you - other than the Creator himself. If you look at it in that light, you'll know you made the right decision.
    xoxoxox
    (my word verification is gracet)

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a sad situation. I know your decision was the right one. Have a blessed day. Madeline

    ReplyDelete
  7. I could go either way...put it out of it's misery or marvelling and letting nature take it's course...such is nature in all her cruelty and we are part of it. Take heart...you felt to keep it from harms way and not to let it suffer. I've had to do similar things and it's never easy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This makes my heart ache, Farmlady, and knowing your compassionate heart you made the kind of decisions God had in mind when He made us stewards of the earth & over every living creature.
    I speak peace to your soul, dear friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Isn't it funny how a blind bird (or one with a broken wing) can be such a moral dilemma for us? Being at the top of the food chain is a big responsibility some times...

    ReplyDelete
  10. To see a little creature like that - I don't know what I would do. But when the time comes for such decisions I think as long as we make them with the best of intentions, they are the right ones.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Reading this post, I could almost hear my old Dad speaking aloud (from the Great Beyond) and saying ' sometimes sad little creatures are here cuz we humans need to be reminded about compassion ' . Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My first instinct would be to put it in a cage. So I could "take care" of it. Then on to struggling as to that being the best decision--is that really what's best for the bird? Surely there must be a reason this bird of the wild is to be spending it's life in this physical manner. Who am I to interfere? But fate did bring me upon it...

    I'm sure none of this is helping what you must have gone through. I know you made your decision with the love of nature you have in your soul.

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment here.
I love to hear what you think about my blog. Feel free to speak your mind. Please be honest.., but remember your manners.