Blackbird, fly

There is a red winged black bird who has been visiting me of late.

I have become absolutely enchanted by him.

His visits have become a bit of a ritual. He comes and perches on my window and stays for a few minutes. Then, he comes right up to the window and looks at me. Right in my eyes. Bold. Unafraid.

This lasts for a few moments and then he returns to his perch and starts to sing. It's a lovely little song. Short but quite intriguing. There's something almost hypnotic about it. Something that draws me closer to him. Makes me pay closer attention.

It's as if he wants me to learn it.

He finishes his warble, takes one more look in my window and then flies away.

He returns throughout the day. Sometimes just flying by. Other times, perching somewhere in the yard.

He is, as you can see, quite handsome. I haven't seen his mate but I suspect she's nesting somewhere in the marsh.

I've wondered if he's telling me she's in trouble and needs help, or if he's telling me that we can co-exist in "his" territory if I behave myself.

Then again, he's just being a bird. Flying. Singing. Doing what birds do.

Isn't it amazing how we project our own stuff onto animals?

I've grown curious about my new friend and have been checking out different sources on the net. I'm fascinated by this entry:

Another variation of the blackbird is the red-winged blackbird. This bird has a red path on its wings, with a dash of yellow as well. These colors connect this bird to the level know as Binah in the Quabalistic Tree of Life. This is the level associated with the Dark Mother and primal feminine energies. This bird has ties to all of the creative forces of nature. On the Tree of Life, black is the color for Bnah and red is the color for Geburah (Mars type of energy). Yellow or amber is the color of the path that connects the two, and it is the path of Cancer, the mother sign of the zodiac. The red-winged blackbird is thus a totem associated with the stellar energies of Cancer.

The male red-winged blackbird will lose its luster during the winter. This reflects how the summer is the time of vibrancy and vitality for those with this bird as a totem. It indicates the need to use the winter to go back into the great womb of life in order to be able to bring forth new energy and expressions of energy the following summer.

Blackbirds nest in swamps, marshes, and low brush-usually just a few feet from water. Again this reflects a tie to water, an ancient symbol for the feminine force for Nature. They often use cattails as perches. A study of the herbal qualities and characteristics of cattail will also provide further insight.

Blackbirds are known for fiercely staking out their own territory, and they will often drive off any other of their kind that are in the vicinity. Because of this, the sight of two blackbirds sitting together is often considered a good omen. In Europe, blackbirds came to be associated with St. Kevin, and one story tells of how they nested in his hand. Again because of this association, to have blackbirds nesting in your environment is usually a beneficial sign. St. Kevin was known as a person of tremendous gentleness and love.

Europeans used to eat blackbirds in a pie, as reflected in the nursery rhyme. Most of the time though, live blackbirds were hidden in empty pie shells to provide amusement at gathering. If the blackbird has come into your life as a totem, you will open up to new surprises and to a new understanding of the forces of Nature as they begin to migrate into your life.

I have absolutely no idea what half of any of that means, really, but I find it fascinating. At least I'm in good company with St. Kevin.

This morning, when my handsome, hypnotic friend came to my window, I had a song for him. One as equally short, mysterious and compelling.

I waited for him to sing to me and, after he had finished, I sang the Lennon-McCartney song - named for Sr. Blackbird - to him:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

I sang it softly, like a lullaby. To my complete astonishment, he sat there the whole time, listening through the window pane. He kept himself very still, moving his head slightly now and again as he listened intently.

As he continued to look at me, I was surprised to find myself weeping. It suddenly occurred to me that I had been singing his song. The one he had taught to me. The 'human' version of it.

I was awash in an unexpected surge of emotions and feelings that come with the gift of understanding and insight. I was embarrassed and elated, all at the same time. Relieved and energized. Open and vulnerable and beginning to heal.

I am taking my broken wings and my sunken eyes, and I am about to fly, with my beloved kid brother - the one with Alzheimer's - into the light of a dark black night.

I'm still a bit fearful. This is unknown, uncharted territory. It's not my territory. It is the Land of the Blackbird.

I need to remind myself, however, that I am flying over the waters that connect me to the Divine Feminine.

I've only been waiting for this moment to arise.