A Bird of Dazzling Colors

The unusually long days of rain and chilly nights late last year did not help any when I was  desolate over a death.  But one morning  I woke up to find  sunlight seeping through my window.   The ice in my veins started  softening.  And then I heard something and  looked out.  "Get out and play," my yard invited.  There,  I had an unusual conversation.  

A bird with colors that shimmered in the sun flew from out of nowhere and impertinently perched itself right in front of me -- on the  waxy blood-red Anthurium that I was admiring. The bird steadily fixed its deep black eyes on me.

Mesmerized,  I whispered: What are you doing here?

 Silently, the bird spoke: "I came to bring you joy"!

A Macaw preening. Photo from The National Geographic

 - Ariel Murphy