There was a serious tone in his young voice.
"Dad," Liam said urgently.
"There's a dead bird in the backyard."
Liam, 6, took me to the back porch to look at a small bird that had flown into the sliding glass door.
"Dad, we need to write a dead bird diary," he said.
I suggested that we should get a pencil, paper and ruler to start.
Liam ran inside and quickly produced all three items.
We laid the dead bird down on the paper and started measuring it. Length: 11 cm, Beak: 1 cm, etc....
We went inside again to get a field guide to identify the bird and study more about it. It turned out to be a Pine Siskin, a type of finch common to Southern Oregon.
After we took notes, Liam brought out a book of Celtic prayers that we had read the night before on St. Patrick's Day. We buried the bird in the backyard under a small cairn that Liam built after reading and singing "A Prayer for Song Birds" by Joyce Denham.
Excerpt:
The God of gods be watching,
lest one of you should fall;The God of gods uplift you,
And speed you in your flight;
Direct you to a sheltered roost,
And keep you snug at night.
The events surrounding the dead bird were so spontaneous and heart-felt. I am in awe of Liam's ability to make so many connections to life and death rituals. Children keep us young.
I realize now how important creating narratives can be for young people. I believe it is vital that young people be given the chance to tell stories in their own ways.
On this day, Liam made sense of the bird's death in his by identifying, studying, praying, and finally, burying the small creature.
Here are some images from our collaborative "Dead Bird Diary."
The Pine Siskin died after flying into the sliding glass door of the house.
Liam examines the bird before burying it in the backyard.
Building a stone cairn at the place where we buried the bird.