Hummingbirds Poem by Curtis Johnson

I can fly backwards and change directions instantly, and sometimes I can fly upside down. I am the only bird that can sustain longterm hovering, and I remember every flower I ever visited. I can reach speeds up to 30 miles per hour and 60 miles per hour in a dive. I can accomplish all this in my short life span of 3 to 5 years. By the way, my name is Rufus, and I must say that thisis not about what I can do but about a short relationship I had with a human being.
I once frequenced a feeder at a private home that was placed at the back bedroom windowof a quiet and gentle home graced with flowers, fruit trees, and a lovely little vegetable garden. I occasionally would see a cat crossing the lawn, lots of jumpy squirrels but never saw a dog there. When I was first noticed feeding there, the owner was very excited and amused, because it was the very first time he had experienced such a site. That is, a bird feeder that he was so proud of having installed himself.
Well, I must have feasted there for at least two years or more only to come by one day sadden that the bright red feeder was gone. It wasn't just the nutrition that I missed, because I never fall short of securing enough food, but it was also the joy I must have brought to the gentleman who thought so much of me, a little humming bird. I was always so pleased to see him watching me feed, and I could tell that it was one of the greatest joys of his day when he looked out and saw me. I don't know, but perhaps he came down with some illness. I shall remember to pray for him. You must understand, my friend, that life even among the hummingbird family, is not about the feeding and the feasting.It is far more about the life and times we share with humans as we fly from place to place.
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