for michael

listen:

one day when you were three,

in the time of living in the mountains

in the time of waterfalls and rainbows

hummingbird was lost—

he was trapped inside a window.

fallen to the corner of the sill

his body heaving

i scooped him up with my mommy hands—

the hands you gave me to hold you when you cry

and you gently caressed his feathers

shimmering iridescent in the late afternoon light

outside, under a trembling aspen

i raised my arms, opened my hands

and hummingbird flew toward the sun

i want to tell you this story

so you know that the tiniest moments

hold the clearest blessings

i want you to know

i have learned to let go