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The Gift

House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, maybe juvenile?

Perched—likely not resident—in the Houston Zoo.

 

“'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free”

—Joseph Brackett, 1848

 

Don’t know, so just observe:

Cautious as if crossing a winter stream; Alert as a spy; Polite as a guest; Elusive as melting ice; Plain as uncarved wood; Receptive as a valley; Opaque as a muddy pool.

—With apologies to several translators of the Tao Te Ching, ch. 15, who also don’t know.

 

“The birds like leaves on Winterwood

… are at peace with Nature's ways”

—Don MacLean

 

Some Sundays, one hue will do.

Explore 15 Dec 2024, no. 168

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Uploaded on December 15, 2024
Taken on September 15, 2024