As an ornithologist, the first things about Sarah Kotchian’s new book of poetry that caught my eye were its title, the mention of wings. Who could go wrong with such a start!
I was drawn in by themes that took me deeper and deeper—beyond the beautiful cover art and several poems in the collection that reminded me Sarah is also a visual artist. In “Canvas,” what a lovely first line My paint brushes are dry, when describing how she misses a friend with whom she used to share painting projects.
There are moving themes of loss, death and dying woven throughout the book. “Winter Tides” is about sharing time with a friend in the 4th stage of cancer and yet, on a picnic at the beach, they laugh at the sign that says, “for dinghies only.” In “Night Pilgrim,” she sits with a dying friend and through the window sees the light of stars. Reflections on aging and dying are struck through with images of breath and life. She lies on a bed next to her 94-year-old mother in “Still Life” as her mother tells stories about her life and her dreams and Sarah reflects that her mother’s life has been full and not still. She and her sister take their mother to witness the brief lives of spring flowers in “Ephemeral.”
Yet, it’s not all flowers and smiles. In “Memento Mori,” a favorite of mine, she begins with Life is / not what I imagined. After a reflection on the pains of death and other kinds of loss that leave us with remnants of roots & wings, shells & paintbrushes, and a wondering about what to do with them, she ends with two stanzas which I’ll share in part. . . fall on my knees, lie face down / on the warming earth / . . . / tears sliding between / green blades / surprised to find / I can still breathe / “You can stay here” / the grass whispers / “not to worry— / we are headed for the light / but we will grow around you / stay as long as you like / you are home now.”
This is a perfect segue into another theme in the book—nature, the details around us and what the natural world is telling us. In “Arroyo”—advice that speaks to all of us. “If we sit quietly,” / I whispered to my son / “something will come.” And it will, if we pay attention. It will leave us, as it does Sarah, knowing my place in the world / and the company that keeps me (“The Company That Keeps Me”).
And because I think that they are in many ways the same, there are themes of prayer and breathing. In “What If” she asks what if every breath is prayer / whispered to earth by day / sky at night. “On the White Strand of the Monks” presents us with the unexpected image of kelp attached to rock by its holdfast and Sarah’s end lines asking for wisdom, courage and love to hold us fast.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I enjoyed the presence of birds in so many poems. This is an incomplete list and, like any good birder would do, I’ll tell you to get the book and go looking for them yourself (you don’t even need binoculars)! Puffins, gulls, grebes, ravens, owls, flickers, snowy egrets, kingfishers, sandpipers, crows, bald eagles, quail, hummingbirds, jays, nuthatches, chickadees and starlings.
In her previous book Camino, Sarah wrote about her experiences walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Here in Light of Wings, she shows us that we don’t have to travel across the world—we can find holy pilgrimages in the everyday, among our friends, families and nature. This book is a joy to read.
Janet Ruth is a poet, natural history writer, artist (mostly pen-and-ink and watercolor), and a recently retired research ornithologist. Janet’s award-winning book, Feathered Dreams: celebrating birds in poems, stories & Images, introduces us to birds both familiar and exotic.