Birds and Flowers

Birds and Flowers

Abby Ciona

A response to Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:22-31, Psalm 46:10, and 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Listen to the birds
but I can’t hear them
Of course you can’t, because when you’re driving on the highway, you’re going too fast
and the cars are too loud for you to hear the blackbirds in the farmers’fields
calling CONK-la-REEEEEE and the song sparrows trilling.
Be still.
Consider the flowers
what flowers?
The speckled wildflowers blooming in cracks of the sidewalk. You step over them every day to school,
but you’re too hurried to glance down and see them.
Look around.
Look at the ravens
ravens don’t live around here
They do, but you’re too busy to notice and you dismiss them as ordinary crows.
You don’t stop to look up and realize that they’re bigger than crows and croaking and clattering their
beaks as they fly over you.
Slow down. Pay attention.
speak, now I’m listening.

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Abby Ciona
Writer & Visual Storyteller

Abby is a writer of fiction, poetry, articles and essays. Her work has appeared in publications including Love Is Moving, YMI, and Reclaim Today. When she's not holding a notebook, you can often find her birdwatching, baking, or playing with her camera collection. She is currently studying Digital Media at Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario, and you can connect with her online at @abbyciona.

Photography by Maddie Leopardo