The cat-caught Fledgling
One day, I watched a cat attack a bird in front of me.
I fended off the cat with a watering can. The bird trembled in the grass, a brown fluff.
In my anger, I thought:
"Stupid bird. Just fly away."
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I do not know if that bird lived or died, only that I drove it to the animal rescue.
They told me it was a starling. A fledgling.
The bird wasn't stupid. It was a child.
It didn't fly away
because it couldn't.
I blamed myself. For not fighting back. Not running away from
sexual abuse.
As I forgive the starling, I forgive myself.
I was a child.
I didn't fly away, because I couldn't.
I can fly now.
And I can sing.
The Symbol of the Starling
Sturnus Vulgaris
Starling
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"European Starlings are now among the continent’s most numerous songbirds. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. Though they’re sometimes resented for their abundance and aggressiveness, they’re still dazzling birds when you get a good look. Covered in white spots during winter, they turn dark and glossy in summer. For much of the year, they wheel through the sky and mob lawns in big, noisy flocks."
Iridescent feathers
sprinkled with white hearts
Starlings gather in groups called murmurations.
Together, they create mesmerizing aerial displays.
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Their noisy fledglings follow their parents around
Crying for their needs.
​Hearts worn on their wings.
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In just the right light,
they turn green as
a peacock's tailfeathers,
as a hummingbird's throat.
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The unexpected beauty.
The starling was the bird I was always meant to find
that day in my yard.
I thank you
starling fledgling
for teaching me
to be
as noisy
as I want!
Starling Sacrament Talk
​Crystal Redford | Mead, WA | Easter 2025
When I was eight I stood at a pulpit like this one as an inactive member. I think of the suffering that little girl went through. At the start of this meeting you saw my six-year-old son at this pulpit. Knowing he won't have to go through what I did, knowing he knows Christ now, it is a miracle.