RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #59 Bird & Red

Posted on by Colleen M. Chesebro

The haiku prompt words (bird and red) from Ronovan touched a tender spot in my heart this week. Eighteen years ago I lost my sister to a battle with brain cancer.

I remember at her graveside service back in Wisconsin, my nieces and nephew watched as a lone red cardinal high up in a branch kept watch over the proceedings far below. My oldest niece remarked that my sister, Kathryn loved cardinals. It was at that exact moment that we all looked at each other and cried. We knew Kathy’s spirit was right there with us and she had coaxed that cardinal to reassure us and let us know that her spirit would live on in the bright red birds she so adored.

To this day, I cannot look at a cardinal without the knowledge that my sister is close by. We have been fortunate to witness two families of cardinals born these last couple of springs in the tree line behind our house. As Kathy always said, “life goes on.”

Kathy’s Cardinal


Thanks for visiting. I will see you all again!

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58 thoughts on “RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #59 Bird & Red”

    1. Thank you, Sue. This took a couple days to write. I wanted to pay her proper respect. ❤

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    1. Thank you, Irene. She was much older (16 years) than me. I did not grow up with her so it was in our adult years we got to know one another. I wish we would have had more time. ❤

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  4. Lovely. With me, it’s white butterflies. One even fluttered in front of me while I was standing in a grocery store line-up. It struck me as quite unusual and nobody seemed to notice except me.

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    1. How beautiful, Olga. It is interesting how many of us have had similar experiences. The human brain is always looking for connections. ❤

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  9. That’s beautiful, Colleen. I wasn’t going to enter this week (I’ve missed quite a few), but you’ve inspired me, so I’m going to write one about the Cardinal and your love for your sister ❤

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    1. Oh, Mel! That brought tears to my eyes. Thank you. Inspiration is such a funny thing. Thanks for making me feel so much better! ❤

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      1. It’s my pleasure. I’m feeling particularly sentimental today, and your post really touched me (they often do). It would have been my dad’s birthday tomorrow, and it’s always tough ❤

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  11. Such a beautiful tribute to your sister, so sorry for your loss and pain. The cardinals seem like special birds. My son experienced something similar with a butterfly the day after the funeral of my grandfather. For over half an hour the butterly sat on his hand and would not move away, by the end we all felt a certain spirituality that yes, he was telling us it would be ok.

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    1. I think that as humans we always look for those reassurances. Thank you for your kind words. I have heard tales of just about every animal in this guise. It is quite remarkable. ❤

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        1. I think so too. I had a friend who said her deceased brother in law visited in the form of a road runner, a bird native to his home state of Arizona. 💗

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          2. I don’t think cardinals are native to the U.K. They are truly that brilliant in color and have a great sounding whistle. The females are tan with red accents. Really lovely birds to have around. ❤

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        1. Hugh, that is so sweet and kind. Thank you. My sister would have been embarrassed that I made a fuss over her. I always feel her near. It is a good feeling. ❤

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