Found this in my garden this morning, cradled by the bare earth in a gentle indentation between the rosemary and basil: a robin’s egg, whole and unharmed, fallen out of a clear sky.
Certain spiritual philosophers I know would classify such an event as an omen, a portent. A message of wisdom, timely and explicit, left for me by the universe. But if such is the case, I have to admit I can’t decipher it, beyond the obvious: creativity, fecundity, the divine spark. Go forth, Mr. DeLuca, and multiply. Water the tomatoes. Pull weeds. Nurture love. Share knowledge. Write fiction.
What shall we say, and shall we call it by a name
As well to count the angels dancing on a pin
Water bright as the sky from which it came
And the name is on the earth that takes it in
We will not speak but stand inside the rain
And listen to the thunder shout
I am, I am, I am, I am
—John Perry Barlow, Weather Report Suite
Thanks, god. I’m on it.
I found an uncracked robin’s egg once, when I was a child, in the back yard of my grandparents’ house–where I now live again. I’ve thought about it a lot since I moved back here. I have always loved that color.
I guess I’m lucky to have had robin’s nesting on our property a lot, and have found eggs frequently, as well as entire nests. They aren’t the brightest tools in the birdshed, and prone to choosing precarious spots, such as last year’s christmas wreath that never got removed and tossed. Or the hanging flower basket, in spite of daily watering.
I never see that color without thinking of Joan Baez’s line:
“I recall your eyes were bluer than robin’s eggs,
My poetry was lousy, you said…”
I believe that was supposed to be a reference to her relationship with Bob Dylan.
I have an uncle who is an amateur naturalist of sorts, who lives in the woods and goes hunting for birds’ nests with his kids. Sometimes when he finds an abandoned nest he brings it home, blows out the eggs and keeps them as mantle decorations.
In that spirit, I tried blowing out my robin’s egg. They are very fragile. It blew up in my face. How’s that for an omen? 🙂