A Poem, Art and Birds for Christmas

The Art exhibition of Ruth Koenigsberger at the Teatro Aracena has just finished this December. We were really fortunate to be in the Sierra for this and we have many memories of times spent with Ruth visiting the Donana Wetlands for bird watching and photography. For those who follow this blog closely Ruth has featured many times with her art and photography. She has also drawn some of the characters and places in my novel and then turned her creative talents to painting birds during these past pandemic years. I intend to show more of her Bird Art and talents in the year to come.

For now I will give you a poem I wrote for Christmas inspired by the paintings below by Ruth Koenisgsberger and the European Crane, (Grus grus). This incredibly large and beautiful bird migrates from the North of Europe to the South during the winter months. We heard a story of a Spanish writer who as a child looked out of his window and saw the cranes calling and flying in the moonlight. Childhood experiences of the beauty of nature can stay with us and inspire us.

A Child’s Christmas in Southern Spain

Stories are told of the olive and dove

While high in the sky in the dawn’s new light

The children look out to the sky above

To spot long necks and great wings in flight.

The Cranes are coming for Christmas

The Cranes are coming for Christmas

Fe Li Ci Da Des

Fe Li Ci Da Des

 Na Vi Dad

Great bodies descend to the earthly ground

With wings outstretched they graciously land

Their calls sing out the most heavenly sound

Long legs extend to the beat of a band

The Cranes are marching for Christmas

The Cranes are marching for Peace

Gathered together on the rich wet earth

Their journey long to a climate more mild

In pairs they now dance for a special birth

A gift they bring to each precious child;

The wonder of the wild.

The Cranes are dancing for Christmas

The Cranes are dancing for Love.

Fe Li Ci Da Des 

Fe Li Ci Da Des, Na Vi Dad  –

Congratulations,

Happiness, The Birth of Christ.

Wishing you all a very happy, peaceful and safe Christmas as we continue to live through these anxious times. I also feel inspired to continue in 2022 with more about Ruth’s exhibition, paintings and her flight into the light with such a variety of colours and different techniques inspired by birds and the beautiful nature in the South of Spain.

Here’s to 2022, Hope, Light and our dedication to nurturing nature in all its beauty and diversity.