Sparrow, What Did You Say? | National Poetry Month 2023

April is National Poetry Month in the US and I’ve chosen to honor it by sharing a special poem each week. So far I’ve shared poems on How to be a Poet and opening the doorway into thanks. Today I’m sharing a poem that has stuck with me since I first read it; a poem that has returned to me again and again in some of my hardest moments.

This poem is by our current Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, and can be found in her collection called The Carrying.

Sparrow, What Did You Say?

A whole day without speaking,
rain, then sun, then rain again,
a few plants in the ground, newbie
leaves tucked in black soil, and I think
I’m good at this, this being alone
in the world, the watching of things
growing, this older me, the she
in comfortable shoes and no time
for dishes, the she who spent
an hour trying to figure out that the bird
with the three-note descending call
is just a sparrow. What would I
do with a kid here? Teach her
to plant, watch her like I do
the lettuce leaves, tenderly, place
her palms in the earth, part her
black hair like planting a seed? Or
would I selfishly demand this day
back, a full untethered day trying
to figure out what bird was calling
to me and why.

— The Carrying, Ada Limón

This is the line that sticks with me:

would I selfishly demand this day
back…

There’s something about that reminding that brings me back to my center, allows for a breath, and propels me forward. I hope there was something in this poem that struck you as well.