Growing Grace

May 24, 2026 Poet:‍ Jill Rothman ‍Artwork: Breathe II by Jolene Monheim

Growing Grace

In this maturity,

the Birds keep moving closer.

I have always been

curious about feathers,

drawn to down and fluff,

attracted to glide and soar.

But to breathe with Birds

is all I live for now.

I arch my back when they approach,

making room for wings to sprout,

allowing talons to reposition my feet.

Bird song bursts from my

once-was-a-mouth beak.

To breathe with Birds

is all I live for now.

Birds are willing to take me in.

They carry me to knowing,

not to thinking, but to knowing,

that all life is one.

I always know Birds to be generous,

filled with the buoyancy gifted them

by the wind.

I always thrill to notice

the Sandpipers skittering,

the Woodpeckers tapping,

the Owls giving a hoot.

My life has been enhanced

by Flamingoes popping pink,

by Crows bringing gifts to earn friends,

by the Barn Owl hearing mouse movements,

30 feet away,

by the Swallows building mud nests,

creating swoops, their communities.

I treasure the Hummingbird’s flutter

and the Great White Pelican’s

12 foot wingspan.

But now,

as the Doves visit more frequently,

and coo when they do,

I only live to breathe with Birds.