At the end of 2023, I got to participate in a beautiful writing workshop by Sylvia Lindsteadt.  One of the exercises was to write a short piece of mostly metaphors about something in nature we’ve encountered around our home. We read the poem, Vixen, by W.S. Merwin, as inspiration (do check it out). I chose the mourning dove, who just that past fall had perched and nested outside our guest bedroom window to hatch two baby mourning doves.

Keening woman
Weaver of the dark cry
Devotee of the line between life and death
Gaze-holding protector
Mama bear with wings
Creator of the precarious home, perched milk maiden
Stalwart songstress, painting caves of forgetting
Nesting magician, world-maker, whisperer of swift farewells

Is there a creature, a tree, or a flower that you encounter around your home or neighborhood that might inspire you to write a short metaphor-filled dedication?