intimations

The magpie jumped down from the fence and landed in a puddle.
Right in front of me she began to splash water over herself.
Magpies are normally quite shy.
The creature conveyed in that moment a celebration of life but also a gift of trust directed towards me.
What was the old one liner?
The kingdom of heaven is your midst.
That evening up at the Hill Wood the crows swirled in their myriads prior to picking a branch to roost on during the hours of darkness.
Their nightly praise of God, their thanksgiving as it were, is given in this gavotte upon the wind currents.
Wheeling and turning, rising and falling, roiling above and below each other, never seeming to collide.
Maybe they do glance off each other but because of the way they are so finely made, it isn't a problem nor is it visible to the human eye.
Their flight seems as riotously chaotic as it is graciously balletic.
Gradually more and more of them peel away into the trees, disappearing as they settle amid the foliage.
Soon there are only a few still flying.
Then these disappear.
There is still much chattering from the branches where they nest.
Creatures rejoice in the creation.