The Cardinal and the Sunflower
by Nancy Machlis Rechtman
A red speck gradually appears
Swooping down from the sky
Like a droplet of blood it lands
Onto the downy blanket of snow
Covering the ground.
There is only silence
Amongst the lifeless trees
Stripped of their brilliant ruby and gold arboreal palettes
So ubiquitous only a few months ago
While only skeletons remain
To hold them erect.
Soon, new arrivals descend
Aggressively searching for the seeds that will sustain them
In this barren landscape.
Puffed up and pugnacious combatants
Soon tire of the bout
Once they find what they’re looking for
Before flying back to the neutral corners of the surrounding trees
Except for one who stays
And sings of warmer days
And the love he seeks
Until he, too, flies away
Unintentionally releasing a precious seed onto the deserted
Pock-marked parking lot below
Littered with broken bottles
And broken dreams.
The bleak days blend into each other seamlessly
And even the birds no longer visit this forsaken land
Where hope comes to die.
Until one morning light returns to warm the Earth
And the birds also reappear
Singing their songs in search of love.
Although the parking lot remains desolate and foreboding
There is a crack in the asphalt where once a seed was dropped
And most unexpectedly, life begins to spring forth
In full riotous color
Reaching for the sun
Stretching towards the sky
And transforming darkness to light
Desolation to joy
And death back to life
While the birds under the canopy sing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Machlis Rechtman has had her poetry published in Literary Yard, Paper Dragon, and Page & Spine, a short story published in Academy of the Heart and Mind, stories published in Highlights Magazine for Children and several other children’s magazines, plus she has had several children’s plays both produced and published. She has written freelance lifestyle stories for worked as copy editor for local newspapers. Nancy writes a humorous blog called Inanities at https://nancywriteon.wordpress.com/ .
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anna Hunter is a visual designer, illustrator, and general weirdo located in central Arkansas with her fiancé and their two furry cats.
She earned her BA in Studio Art from Hendrix College in Conway, AR and her MFA in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA.
Attracted to all things related to storytelling, Anna’s work consists of her own takes on folklore and mythology wrapped in bright but limited color palettes.
Instagram: @nuxiedrawsthings
Website: annahunterart.com