Dream of the Raven
-Ada Limon
When the ten-speed, lightweight bicycle broke down
off the highway lined thick with orange trees, I noticed
a giant raven’s head protruding from the waxy leaves.
The bird was stuck somehow, mangled in the branches,
crying out. Wide-eyed, I held the bird’s face close to mine.
Beak to nose. Dark brown iris to dark brown iris. Feather
to feather. This was not the Chihuahuan raven or the fan-
tailed raven or the common raven. Nothing was common
about the way we stared at one another while a stranger
untangled the bird’s claws from the tree’s limbs and he, finally
free, became a naked child swinging in the wind.
Guru Nanak asserts that suffering is medicine. Suffering can be transformative medicine for the soul. When I read Ada Limón's poem, "Dream of the Raven," this morning, I felt it beautifully echoed this sentiment. Pain can be a catalyst for profound empathy, connection and emancipation.
The poem takes us on a journey through an unexpected encounter with a giant raven, trapped and crying out amidst orange trees. The speaker themselves is in trouble as their bicycle breaks down and they encounter a Raven in an orange tree. When the speaker holds the raven's face close, beak to nose, eye to eye and feather to feather, there is a poignant acknowledgment of shared vulnerability. The speaker can now truly smell terror; they can genuinely see plight.
This intimate connection, born out of pain, becomes a conduit for recognizing the commonality between humans and the natural world. Guru Nanak's insight comes to life as the poem unfolds, revealing that our own pain can enable us to see eye to eye with our fellow earthlings. Limón's verse suggests that through empathy, we can begin to understand the eyes we possess to witness pain and the metaphorical feathers that grant us the ability to soar above adversity.
The act of freeing the trapped raven by a compassionate stranger adds a layer of symbolism to the poem. The stranger's intervention becomes a metaphor for the service that can arise from empathy. In Guru Nanak's perspective, service is a path to emancipation, and the poem subtly aligns with this philosophy. The moment when the raven is finally liberated and transforms into a "naked child swinging in the wind" symbolizes a profound release, akin to the freedom attained through selfless service.
Limón's narrative suggests that it is through our own struggles that we develop the capacity for genuine compassion. Moreover, it suggests that by alleviating the suffering of others, we, too, can experience a form of liberation. This interplay of pain, empathy, and service underscores the interconnectedness of the human experience and emphasizes the potential for collective healing.
We need to embrace our pain not as a burden but as a transformative force. Through the lens of empathy, we can recognize our shared humanity with the natural world and, in turn, discover the wings that enable us to rise above adversity. Recognizing the eyes to see pain and acknowledging the feathers to fly is the first step toward our emancipation through service.
Singing oneness!
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