Chickadee Ridge (for Nancy)

Patricia J. Franz

for Nancy

To feed chickadees 
on Chickadee Ridge, to find delight – 
in spring snow that surrenders 
to the weight of boots, in a sky so blue 
it breaks your heart, on a ridge 
hiding cheerful chirps in fir and pine – 
requires first, a journey; 
from sour beer, sushi, and playlists 
through a wilderness
where walkers, wheelchairs and Whys? 
keep you company at 3 a.m. 

To feed chickadees on Chickadee Ridge, 
you must forsake the Valley of Lost Things, 
potted poinsettia laying limp against the sugar pine 
and the prayers we leave behind 
–and climb to the East shore. 

To feed chickadees on Chickadee Ridge 
requires outstretched arms that ache 
and await tender feet and thrum of feather –
the tiny life that reconnects you to the world.

Always, new life comes
as budded blossoms in spring,
if begrudgingly

The Science

This poem grew out of a grief journey with my younger sister, who lost her husband to glioblastoma. Psychologists affirm grief is a natural response to loss. Neuroscientists studying how the brain, mind, and body react when a loved one dies describe how the brain encodes a bond when we fall in love with someone – a partner, a child. To lose them breaks the bond and translates to losing a part of ourselves. Something is missing. Many of us are resilient and find our way back to a meaningful, albeit altered life. But for others, the struggle is immense. Grief therapy incorporates developing new skills to deal with emotions and find courage in the face of extraordinary change. I didn’t know any of this then. I only hoped that our visit to Chickadee Ridge might offer a spark that could bring her back to life.

Note: The Valley of Lost Things was first described in L. Frank Baum’s Dot and Tot of Maryland.

The Poet

Patricia J. Franz (she/her) is a poet and author of children’s picture books. She writes with a love for the natural world about our connections to place and to one another. Her children’s poems appear in several Pomelo Books anthologies. Her poem, ‘something small has died’, debuted last year in The Write Launch Winter 2024: Climate Crisis. She and her husband, their Bernese Mountain dog, and her sourdough starter split time between the Arizona Sonora desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Next poem: Coming to a Head, Coming to a Wall by John MacNeill Miller