December 6, 2023
Listen:
Read Along:
Hummingbird
by Earl Kim
I dream of a world with no dreams lost. The following poem of mine, translated by me and edited by Kion You, was originally written in Korean and published in a local literary magazine this year.
Again, this year,
during the season of flowers,
Hummingbirds fly into Texas.
One blistering summer day, last year,
a group of migrants attempted to cross the border,
sitting in a truck container
of unbreathable density.
Eight young children died there,
and are now flying in,
becoming hummingbirds
of eight colors.
Leaving Central and South America,
venturing through Mexico,
crossing the curved canyon of the Rio Grande,
and moving past the dusty, windy border,
they are flying in,
flapping their translucent wings.
Every year,
my neighbors welcome these guests.
One fills her front yard with hummingbird’s favorite flowers:
Trumpet Creeper, Daylilies, and Lantana.
while another fills his red bird feeder with sugar water.
When the eight forgotten souls
come back to life with wings
and receive this beautiful hospitality
for the first time abroad,
the hummingbirds of eight colors fly
into a dream,
a dream that knows
no border.
“The message of the Incarnation is not to behold an innocent baby resplendent in inertia, but rather to take sides with a God who agitates for reform and shatters the status quo. ”
“God of the Exile,
You were carried into Egypt by people fleeing danger. We pray for all in exile that they, like you, can find home and shelter and safety. Because you were exiled and you remain with the exiled.
Amen. ”
