Silence Broken (republished from 6/14/06)

Stepping into the edge of the woods I hear a blue jay's call. A note of urgency and a warning that a threat is approaching. An alarm for the benefit of his woodland neighbors and a scolding; for one so rude as to approach these guarded grounds. I am at once reminded of Thoreau and his robin, near the pond.

I can't help but ponder that this was, no doubt, the same scolding given the Ancient Ones who intruded upon the first blue jays in these hills. Did those ancients hear the same alarm? That same shrill signal unchanged for thousands of years? Was it a warning of approaching danger to them as well?

The Ancient Ones were, themselves, woodland creatures in their time. I would be the same, were I not so fortunate as to have been born into this time and place. And I was born into the luxuriousness of what has been provided for me by my ancestors. They suffered and endured to pass along this good fortune to me.

Phil Miller