Sublime

emulate the sparrow, the “wisest of birds.” According to the Zhuangzi, “If its eyes do not spot a suitable place, it will not look twice. If it happens to drop the nut it is carrying, it will simply abandon it and continue on its way. It is wary of people, and yet it lives among them, protected within the altars of grain and soil.”

Sacred beasts. They lived in the branches of the ancestral trees, feeding on leftovers and the occasional spirit-fruit the tree produced. In return, they helped defend their tree against rivals.

What an ugly beast the ape, and how like us. —MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

The mountain is fine

At evening of the day,

Birds fly Home together.

Within these things

There is a hint of Truth,

But if I try to tell it,

I cannot find the Words.

The great bird carried away these concerns. It swooped down into the garden toward some unsuspecting heart, hidden like a gem in a handful of silken fur,

the forest is quiet but partial to birds