My Father Made Friends with a Hummingbird Recently
My Father Made Friends with
A Hummingbird Recently!
By Sanford Widran, (c) Aug 2020
My father made friends
with a hummingbird the other day.
They found each other adorable,
they both love to play, every day.
When my Dad rolls out in his back yard.
There is the same hummingbird
working really, hard.
Fluttering its wings very quickly
To sip the sweet nectar
From the hole in the mouth
of the Red Jar, disguised as a flower.
And, to rest after
the bird will stop by, As it goes
Vipppy, Vippp, Yipppy Vippp
from side to side.
To check you out
eventually to reside, and
show it’s pretty
shiny dark breast.
As it lands near by
Upon a twig in the tree
Quit near and
Next to my Dad and Me.
They would look each other
up and down real hard
To see the other carefully
And study what the other
Might do next, the moment brief.
But the quick gaze is just enough
To size the other up neatly.
And see what each of the
(My Father and the Hummingbird)
Other was wearing, sweetly.
And, I could swear that the Bird
Was draped in a shimmering
Purple and Gold Jacket!
So, it must have been a Laker Fan!
At least, they smiled so each
could see the other’s face
And feel safer, with one another
if ever so briefly.
And then off it goes yonder
Quickly darting high into the sky
And landing like a Daredevil
On the tall dark side
of a Palm Tree not far,
in the shade from the sun,
so it can rest now and hide.
With the heat and sun’s rays
so bright and intense
Until another time the bird
will take flight again sometime later.
As if it’s now energized
From cooling off so long
While keeping a keen eye out
It circles back around
To start the dance all over again.
The food of course it’s main purpose
The Red container still awaits
although standing, still, sitting, right there
out in the open in the direct sunshine,
all the time, all day long. Easy
to keep an eye on from Near and Far.
Don’t even Dare to come by
Another hummingbird or two
Might even try though. And before your eyes
Can even register
that friendly bird of yours was
not so nice to any Other
body with wings, that might not care!
The sound of the two or more birds
going at it was quite strange
as they went Vippy VIP, Vippy VIP
super quick.
And my Dad’s new friend returned
when it was secure
And the food source went undisturbed.
This was this little “guy’s” territory
So, you can’t just come waltzing in
for a quick drink without being
suddenly chased and squawked at
incessantly, at last.
“Move out of here fast Buddy
This my new friend’s place.”
And so again like he/she bird does
Every day now and settles on a limb, nearby
Each time my Dad comes outside to play.
They stare each other up and down
and so, wonder...
What might happen next?
Ooooh, there’s that other
pesky bird again already
as they chase each other up and down
for Air Superiority, a challenge which
Is never quite clear….
Is that the Same Hummingbird?
Over here? Hmmm....
Over here now on the twig?
With the super proud and shiny Breast
The Purple maze and glow intensity
all around looks pretty much
the same.
So, is this one,
my Dad’s little Friend?
Who won that battle?
High in the sky, rather here nor
there, they disappeared.
And only one returned to drink
from the super sticky jar with the
sweet nectar. Sure, it must nourish
that tiny body enough that's
built like a battery with storage.
Its energy within like a kite above
With wispy zippy wings!
Around it goes, and around again,
each time
through its familiar ritual.
From Shady Palm Tree to
Suckle honey from the mouth
Of the Red Upside-Down Jar,
And back again
Over to the Twig on the tree
Nearby my Dad and Me.
His Hummingbird friend takes
A break periodically to stop
Flapping its wings and gather
it’s strength
from all this new-found
energy source. Again, and again
to enjoy the sweet flavor,
if ever so ever, so briefly and neatly.
For another moment still, until that
pesky other Hummer shows it also
has a pretty face and wings again too.
But, of course the endless chase
Begins and ends
To protect this special source
of delicious Life-Giving fruity fluids.
In this scary desert so hot
it’s amazing these little feathery creatures
can even survive. My Dad is amused
at the acrobatics these hummingbirds can do.
They can hoover so perfectly
right in front of you, flapping wings
left and right so fast that become invisible.
If only we could fly too!
Thought someone long ago
Studying birds in flight to
Understand the sight
of gravity and the danger, we might face.
For (Wo)Man to leave the ground
With just a little sip of fuel for energy
So, it seems
Just like a bird can or so Do. (does)
Although a Propeller HELPS too!
My Dad used to fly!
No - not Combat Jets
But overhead wing Cessna planes
He received his Visual License
to fly at his will. And then to keep learning
more and more, taking lessons still
then “Under the Hood” without looking
outside the cabin except
for the instrument panel and switches
and gear to fly the plane within
any condition without fear. But, he never
quite got there, all the way through
On completing his Instrument License, I hear.
He loved the freedom
the airplane provided to chase
the line on the horizon, to soar
and loop through the cloudless
blue sky, without even falling apart!
Himself too, mentally or physically
or physiology. The fun he says
is in the Practice STALLS,
while riding really high
in the sky, and then falling
endlessly it seems, back to Earth
completely recklessly now.
The stall turns the plane upside down
just to make sure it’s harder
for you to recover while spinning
out of control down…. down really, fast.
It feels just like your stomach
has been relocated,
The blood pumps so loudly through
your brain, while you're trying
to think this out clearly!
What is going to happen next,
is going to happen really fast
so, you better remember what to do
this time and next, if there is one.
Wake up! Here goes......
as you quickly ease back on the Throttle
All the way back without killing the engine
mid-flight. Then straighten the Airlons
Left and Right and back to Center,
while stomping your foot
on the opposite Rudder direction
to flatten your spin and then ever so ever
Gently pull back on the Elevators
Steering Handle Yoke
To “Pull Up, Pull Up” screams
the Stall Horn in your ear.
The dials are all spinning
In uncomfortable ways
As the intensity of the gravity
pull, thankfully, begins
to lessen now
bringing the flight more gradually
into flat space riding still high
enough, in the sky.
Then move the Throttle forward,
back to Normal position for proper air
flying speed, once again.
Whew…. we made it through,
another one of those Mind-Bending
events just to make sure you know
what to do and learn what it feels like!
To Recover up there
when you are up there all alone
in space, and must know
many more lessons just to find
your way home again, safe.
And make it back quick
to the correct Landing Strip!
Just like my Dad’s friendly
Hummingbird does each day
when it returns, Sitting
for a while to cool
On a nearby Twig!
All steady and calm
Then wings begin
The zippidy dash.... again,
To retrieve a sip of food
from the sweet jar and back.
From here to there, again and again
Every day now when my Dad
comes out to play in his backyard.
They are regular good friends now
that makes my Father smile and amused
for quite a while, with tickled pink cheeks
at the sight of the Purple Hummingbird’s
breast. And certainly and thoroughly enjoyed,
by the seemingly calm of the rest and
the fun of each other’s rouses!
My Father Made Friends with
A Hummingbird Recently!
By Sanford Widran, (c) Aug 2020