Janylee McGlinchy (Cloutier)

A Mockingbird and a Dove

I love birds and I consider them my friends. I take care of the ones that come to my home. I feed a mockingbird and a dove every day. I give them my best bread and I place two bowls of water by the honeydew drop bush for them. Birds know you take care of them, and they come back. They know the sound of my voice. I always go out to greet them. I say to my mockingbird, “Where’s my baby bird” and to my dove, I coo, for he responds to this. They often can be found sitting on the tall light pole that illuminates at night by the sun beating on it by day. I think of a high position for small birds and what a view they can see me sitting at my table by the window. Other times they can be found on my roof hours at a time. Last year I had a pair of doves coming and landing on my patio when the screen was out because of heavy winds. When you have doves near you it’s like having angels being sent from heaven. Doves symbolize the presence of the Lord. A dove landed on Jesus when John baptized him the Baptist in the Jordan River and Noah sent a dove out of the ark to look for dry land. Doves are so sweet. Once I was privileged to have rescued one in the grass, hobbling on one leg. I took him in to care for him so that no animal would get him, where he couldn’t fly. I placed him on my chest and fed it. They find comfort at the beat of the heart. I took care of him for two days and I put a blanket out for him, under my hibiscus bush, for comfort and warmth, as it was wintertime. I planned to take him to the Wildlife Sanctuary the following day. When I awakened I couldn’t find him. All I found was his feathers and a hole in the screen. Trying to protect him, he died in my garden where he is now with a crown of thorns gracing his grave. What do you have to be thankful for today? My birds that sing to me, they are my family here at my home. When I’m down the mockingbird will sit in my butterfly garden on the fire bush and not make a peep. He lets me get close; it always cheers me up. Once when I was not feeling well he put on a concert for me at the top of the oak tree all day long. I’ve never heard such a pretty whistle as the mockingbird does. It was forty-one degrees today but he was there waiting for his daily bread and he knew I would be there too.

A Bird's Last Song

One day I woke up in my beautiful nest that I had built with
brown twigs gathered near the marsh I loved being in my green
tree near the crescent blue shoreline it was dawn and so I was
singing because life was good and I was free and so I dove down
to catch for my first fish of the day I hit the water before I could
stop myself when I saw it all of a sudden everything became real
clear my life as I had known it was gone my feathers were covered
in black tar and I couldn’t fly and I couldn’t fish and I couldn’t eat
and
no
one
came
to
help
me
and
so
I
died
all
alone
on
the
shore.
(This poem was written in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, from a bird's point of view. It is also a Memorial Day poem, the design in the shape of a flag.)

In memory of a Loggerhead Turtle named Jonah

On December 20, 2008 while walking on Loggerhead Beach, I met up with a nice lady who was fishing. She happened to be a veterinarian, who worked at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center of Juno Beach. When I learned of this, I asked for Jonah. It is in this moment, that I learned of his fate, that he had passed away on July 28, 2008, and now is in that eternal place in the sea, where turtles swim forever...

Jonah, did you know
Though you were a turtle, we loved you?
Did you know
That one day you would swim the ocean
Did you know
That you would touch our lives forever
People from around the world
Came to visit you, a loggerhead turtle
In a marine life center
And though we never touched your shell
You touched our hearts
We gazed on you in wonder
And now we ask ourselves
Why did you return, after your release?
To be found in the Indian River Lagoon
With a fish hook and line inside you,
And Lethargic Loggerhead Syndrome
Did you come to see your friends, one last time?
Before you would take your last breath
To be now in his eternal presence

Pelicans

I was walking at Loggerhead sunset in search of some heart-shaped sea shells when two pelicans came into my view each plunging into the ocean for what appeared their quest for dinner one flew back out to the sand we looked at each other him with those beady little eyes we were wondering about each other he never took his eyes off of me I pondered whether or not he could be injured and I have not a clue what he thought of me I watched as he managed to turn his head completely around in the other direction and begin to scratch his back with his long beak and I thought wouldn't it be nice if we humans could do that I sat there quietly captivated by his beauty and then he fluttered his wings like a boat that's been idling getting ready to go full throttle but he was only drying them out I waited for what seemed a very long time the pelican was in no hurry and so I was thinking he might have gotten some oil on his wings he kept looking at me with those sweet eyes as if to say I trust you and he continued washing himself then to my amazement the fluttering began again but more aggressively it seemed as if this time he was really leaving for good I wished he'd stay I thought when all of a sudden with no goodbye on his part he took off in a most graceful flight and I was left there alone, but in awe that I had encountered a pelican in all its beauty and I felt as though he had come for me.
Note:
"Pelicans" was first intended to be a poem. After much contemplation, I left it as a prose, one that requires a few deep breaths while reading. I thought, if William Faulkner in all his brilliance could write as if there were no end, so might I.

The Loggerhead Turtle

I walk Loggerhead, morning
tide is high
an angry ocean, heavy winds
I head south
the beach is desolate,
sand erosion
turtles hatched overnight
some torn from their nest too soon
having not made it to their eternal home in the sea
one can only imagine the loss today
a mother Loggerhead turtle
delicately hatched her eggs
only to have them
torn from her by
the wind and the sea
her fate unknown
their lives there
not a chance
a few feet
from their life
to their death
on the shoreline
I see so many eggs
that could have been baby loggerhead turtles

Mockingbirds

I have a mockingbird nest in my honeydew drop bush. For days I've watched the babies grow and mature and the mother tending them. They constantly squawk like they're hungry all the time. After awhile I noticed they were developing a fluffy coat of fur and I knew it was getting time for their flight into the dark world from the safety and security of their nest. The other day I noticed one of them a few feet from the nest, perched on a branch. I got a real close up of him and felt blessed to be so close to one of God's creations. He was so cute. I wanted to touch him but I remembered what I was taught as a child, that the mother will abandon the nest if she senses it, so I didn't. Every day since then I've gone to look to see where he is, for it brings me great joy, it's at these times I feel close to God. I thought how scary it must be for the bird to think that he must now make it on his own without his mother to care for him.

So it was at this time last spring I was out watering my garden and I was feeling a bit down. I heard a little squawking sound coming from inside my honey dew drop bush. There lie a bird's nest and when I pulled on a branch to get a closer peek four baby birds raised up their heads and opened their mouths awaiting food from their mother. My mood suddenly changed and I was elated at the sight. As the days rolled by I would always go by and look into the nest, being careful to not get too close. One day I noticed the nest was empty and I thought they had gone off with their mother. But to my amazement they were nearby, to be found in the large cherry tree or the hedge around the house. As the months have gone by I've realized that they never left. The four of them are still here and often when I come home they're on the sidewalk as if greeting me. I'd like to think that in some way we bonded and they feel safe here. Of all the places they could live they've stayed close to their nest and it's occurred to me that there's no place like home...

So it is for us a scary world we live in and sometimes we have to "stick our necks out" and do something that is uncomfortable and fills us with fear but God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and we face it head on, just like that baby bird about to take his first flight with his mother watching over him...