Words from Nature

Jays are the loudest

Truly a cacophony to the senses

Their phrases so jarring, so audacious yet never quieted

Their words, so preposterous and brutish, yet they dictate an entire language

Wind is quiet

She mostly speaks in whispers

When necessary, she speaks in fortissimo

But she is precise with words and speaks only at her own command

The lizards are very fast talkers

They are frantic and tend to be rather pessimistic

Always panicking and assuming the worst

But they are quite good at reading situations

They know when to be still and simply blend into the conversation

The big birds are gentle giants

They, like the wind, don’t say much

However, it’s not that they’re choosy with their words; they just never know the right ones to say

Frankly, they’re misunderstood

Their silence is taken as condemnation or elitism

And they travel in herds because they struggle relating to others and fear villainization

Nonetheless, they often travel alone to engage in solidarity pensiveness

Contrary to popular belief, trees talk a lot

Their language is very difficult to understand and at a frequency beyond our capacity as human beings

But you can feel their communication

Songbirds indubitably say all the right things

Their sentences are the most beautiful and tasteful

But like most things in life, also the most shallow and subjective

Bees mostly sing or hum — a tactic they’ve found quite helpful to ease a long workday

Butterflies speak Romance languages, but they have short attention spans, making it hard to have a real conversation

Hummingbirds are very chatty and speak rather quickly because they always have some place to be

The clouds are skilled in the art of charades, and they love to play with anyone willing to devote at least an hour

The sun’s words are like medicine, meant to be fully absorbed and processed in their entirety

Yet of all the languages that I am privy to, I must admit that my favorite is the language of the night.

The way the stars sing, the way frogs and crickets hum, how the owls coo and how the raccoons snicker.

There is a lull in the night pantomiming the inbreath of the earth

And as the waking world falls still within the crevices of the earth’s inhalation,

So much can still be heard traveling in a hurricane of whimsy, secrets, and gentle convocations.

Within the exhale of the world, the whirs and murmurs pick up and dance for no one and everyone the same

They twirl and spring upon the command of the moon who intimately leads them to celebration

And the moon is a divinity in itself.

Just as the sun soaks her words into one’s skin, the moon brings out of us words typically left unspoken

She speaks in pearls of wisdom and the occasional quip

But she is the only one who truly listens

She protects your mysteries and holds your worries

She cleanses your departures yet demands your highest self for tomorrow

And through her acceptance, accountability, and grace, she does what nature always does.

Illuminates your soul.