The Sapphire Hummingbird

The Sapphire Hummingbird

Ice-sapphires melting
Into hummingbird plumage
As a leaf trembles

I was about 10 when I first saw a Hummingbird in the wild.

Okay it wasn't quite the wild. We were due to return to England after living in Georgia for a year. We were on a mountain, I suppose that is the wild come to think of it...

As is wonderful about life, somehow we made friends with the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls creator, Xavier Roberts' widow, Jessica.

She was a jewel of sorts. One of life's kind hearted folk.

She met us at the airport when we landed in North Carolina from Georgia. Driving a huge American Lincoln Continental, she took us up toward her newly built mountain home — until, mid-journey, she kindly left oncoming traffic by and slid off the road — straight into a ditch!

We survived. We laughed. It was funny.

Here are some photos of the car...

I just got AI to recreate it! Isn’t that BLOODY FANTASTIC?! We are so lucky to have this tech today. But many don’t see life through that good lens — they stare through a bad one, especially when it comes to AI. They group the entire term “AI” into one big, scary thing.

Okay, I won’t deny it — I too get riled up by the headlines, the doomsday talk about humans abusing AI, twisting it into worst-case scenarios. But unless I can personally shift that narrative — which, by the way, I try to do with my music (too deep an explanation for this post) — I rely on my ever-vigilant soul awareness to dampen those thought-fires. Because if I don’t, those fear-fed flames will burn away the joy of the short human life I’ve been gifted.

And funny thing — back in the 1980s, at the beautiful age of 10, I’m actually grateful I didn’t have the internet. (See how a positive, soulful perspective can flow both ways? One moment I’m singing AI’s praises, the next I’m celebrating life without it. Welcome to a glimpse of soul happiness in action!)

Instead of battling algorithms, I was off playing around Jessica’s new mountain retreat, free, grounded, and blissfully unplugged.

Specifically, I was sat on her home's wooden balcony, one which overlooked the city of Franklin miles away, its noise totally lost above the clouds where we sat.

• 🌱 Side Note! I just looked up the place we stayed on the map—and yet again, the angels speak to my soul. Just like those repeating angel numbers you see throughout the day, quietly offering messages of comfort, there are other signs, too—hidden messages that are never coincidence. Find them. And find joy. Now tell me this isn’t wild: the #vss365 poetry prompt word today is “SAPPHIRE”… and what do I spot on the map? A place named Sapphire! You can think what you want—but I know this is The Body of Everything sending its love. Oh—and by the way!! Did you catch the color of that old Lincoln Continental? Yep. Sapphire blue. Coincidence? Maybe for you. For me? Just one more soulful wink from the universe. No preaching. You feel what you feel—as long as it makes you happy.

So there I was—my brother glued to my side (probably literally, knowing me!)—watching the view. But not Franklin. Not the storm clouds miles away, dumping their dark rain onto the thirsty land below. No. We were locked on the bird feeder Jessica had placed on the balcony—home to an incredible array of wild birds that lived in those mountains.

One of them?

The hummingbird.

Oh, the hummingbird. I hope my haiku did them justice. They’re like real-life angels. Beautiful. Surreal. Captivating. Bursting with vibrant energy—not just in flight (oh, their flight!)—but in the brilliance of their colored plumage.

And that moment—watching them in awe—is what birthed this poem. A tiny poem, but packed with memory.

How does any of this help your soul?

Well... as always, that’s your inner journey to take.

But I’ll leave you with this:

Why not act like a hummingbird today?

Set yourself free to explore what you love. Hover around it. If you can’t physically get out—maybe you’re caring for someone, working, or stuck in one of life’s other sacred pauses—then sip your coffee like it’s nectar. Doodle something—feel what it’s like to write in ink again. Put on a song and dance on the spot (I recommend CJB SOUNDS—more on that new name of mine, coming soon!).

Use the act of imagination to hover on something—anything—that gives you energy. That reminds you you’re alive.

Anyhow, gotta go. My dad’s having one of his loud sneezing attacks—which is basically morse code for:

ACHOOO—GET ME BREAKFAST—NOW! 😄💨

Love you! Got to grow! 😳
CJB