Sonder

By Fahima Begum

n. The realization that each and every one around you, lives a life just as lucid and complex as your own.

On the branch of a dormant tree sits a chickadee,
who is as curious as can ever be. 

In those moments of uncertainty,
the chickadee brings clarity. 

When the sun suffers insomnia, and the moon is depressed.
When the harsh shrill of the wind is the only sound expressed.

When the sky is painted in dull shades of grey.
Or when the time for hibernation has come without delay, 

The chickadee watches the flickering screen reflected in the teacher’s-tired eyes.
The student's sighs wafts through the skies
Ruffling the chickadee's feathers as it flies –

Over the cars down below:
The bus driver welcoming each passenger with a hello.
Other drivers tirelessly delivering food and people who are on the go.

With the bird’s eye view, the chickadee sees
people buzzing around like busy bees,
to bring the lives of others some ease.

Preparing for the warmer days, 
that bring hope in sunny rays.
Those days when we will be lifted out of this lethargic haze.

In the hives working harder than most do, 
the chickadee spots you too,
the compassion in your eyes that makes you, you. 

You whose hands are sticky with chemicals,
but is still able to perform miracles.
How you clean away the hardships of the day is incredible. 

You who wears a mask of determination to get through those long days and the longer nights.
You who dreams of paradise and going on flights. 
But your feet remain on the ground, and the work ahead is the only thing in sight. 

You long for those days when you are free like the chickadee.
The chickadee answers those calls by whistling the notes “fee-bee”,
A soothing melody signalling the first buds of cherry blossoms on the branch of a tree, 
that one day you will see. 

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Written Word ‘Hand’ poems