There is a small duck that sometimes appears on a pond near my home with which I have become infatuated.  The Green-winged Teal is the smallest of the dabbling ducks.  The female is very similar to the female mallard in appearance.  The male is of course more striking and distinct.  But both sport a bright teal green patch on their wings.  I have only observed them in singles and small groupings and in those environments they have been shyer than the other birds on the pond, tucking themselves in behind the larger group of mallards and certainly not approaching the edge where I lurk.

Maybe it is for this very reason that I find them attractive; they appear a little hidden, camouflaged in the regular hustle and bustle of pond life, much like I sometimes feel as a family living in the world with autism.  We live life, but we live camouflaged, tucked in behind the busier traffic of everyday life, staying out of sight as much as possible because we are different (small in the case of the green-teal), more vulnerable, a little shy perhaps of sharing all that is our reality.

Last week I took my son to another Doctor’s appointment, to investigate some seizure activity and increased vocal ticks.  It is a season of increased anxiety and family pressure.  A friend gave this advice heading into that appointment: “don’t let this harm the two of you”.  That is, don’t let the added stress damage your love one for another (that is specifically the love with my husband — it seems obvious but life’s little stresses do tend to pull at the very fibers of your deepest connections). And this got me thinking again about the Green-winged Teal. Was there anything to glean from this gentle creature of God’s creation?

So a Green-winged Teal poem of love for Valentine’s Day.

Let it fall

Do not let this harm you.
Let it fall like rain
on soft feathered backs,
impervious and supple still:
chestnut, grey and dappled browns,
made distinct by insignia
of iridescent green. Preened
layers of tenderness and beauty
also defend against the elements.

Shelter together
close as the filaments
on a single feather
like fingers intertwined
joining friends and
lovers one to another
ribbed and reaching,
retaining warmth and
resisting wind and weather.

Migrate through
life’s perplexities, not escaping
but shifting perspective, learning
to prepare seasonally
for thresholds of change,
fledging young, foraging
for renewal and in community
mounting the long sky journey
with green-tealed brightness.

© 2016 Laurel Archer

My camera is a humble thing and incapable of bringing the green teal close enough to get a good shot, although I keep trying.  For clearer pictures and information about green teals go to All About Birds