ix. Signs and Wonders - Sparrows

Sparrows

Old English spearwa, from Proto Germanic sparwan (cf. Old Norse spörr, Old High German sparo, German Sperling, Gothic sparwa).

Lesson Six: 2.40pm

A small class of sparrows

is perched in tennis court fence wire

and from the last upstairs schoolroom

it appears they are sitting on nothing

but the freezing panes

of a winter afternoon.

In an instant

measured by time and distance

a twitch on the thread of a moment

in a single flash they are gone

mere specks above the football field

flying on the great wheel of the day.

Jeff Guess

Reflection:

In the days of the tall ships, sailors would get a sparrow tattoo for crossing a sea, i.e., from the US to England. A seaman with 5,000 miles or more under his belt earned the right to a sparrow tattoo.

A sparrow for a safe journey, a sparrow for a safe return and a banner from one beak to the other, for every five thousand miles.

Sparrows can mean all or any of the following: eternity, luck, innocence. Sparrows are also known for travelling great distances, but always returning home.

Prayer:

‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ His tender word I hear,

And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;

Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Civilla D. Martin 1866-1948

Reading: Psalm 11: 1 In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain like a sparrow? Douay-Rheims Bible

©Jeff Guess 2017