The Viburnum

My dad kept popping up in my thoughts
I was planning a summer picnic
More than once, when asked who was coming
I included my dad.
In fact, I said, 
“And, of course, dad!”
The summer family picnic
Was always held in August 
To celebrate dad’s birthday
He loved the get togethers in his honor

I was not the only one being “visited”
Tom and I were watching a favorite show
When he said, 
“We’ll have to call your dad 
And tell him there is a new season of Father Brown!”
Whoops! 
Dad had been gone for over a year.
So, it was fitting what came to the Viburnum

A Viburnum grows just outside the kitchen window
It is my favorite of all our bushes
In the spring, the delicate white flowers bloom
And a beautiful scent wafts into the kitchen
Sweet, while complex
I so enjoy it as I stand at the sink
Or walk by on the sidewalk

This gift of nature only lasts a couple of weeks
But I anticipate it 
From the first arrival of the tiny green shoots.

The beloved Viburnum offers more than beauty
More than its stunning aroma
It is the staging bush for our feathered friends
Each fall, a chickadee alights upon a branch right outside the window
He calls to me until I take notice
Asking that I fill the feeder
We argue every year
I am certain the bears are still awake
He is indignant
The pickings are getting slimmer as the cold sets in
He wants those black sunflower seeds!

However, in August
There are no feeders out
The Viburnum often sits empty
But not that afternoon
As I stood soaping the pans,
My eye caught movement in the bush
The male cardinal!

He looked in the window at me
Lovingly, I swear, lovingly
Filled with joy, but ever demanding
I silently asked,
“Why don’t you ever bring mom?” 
Further movement a couple of branches away
Drew my attention
There she sat
In all her female bird subdued beauty
Pale brown with warm reddish tinges in the wings, tail and crest
Black face and red-orange bill
She gazed in the window
Looking back into those deep eyes

My heart lifted further 
As, filled with love and gratitude
Tears dropping into the dishwater
I gave thanks
“You brought her!
You are together”

Alleluia!