Paintings by Whitman Johnson

Begun in 1996 and written in 44 parts, this poem entwines my father's long illness and my experiences of bird watching in New Mexico and Florida. The 12 selected parts are mostly about birds, especially kingfishers. In part 43 the "vigil of several years" refers to frequent visits with my father and stepmother during his illness, as well as my preparation for helping to make his passage as peaceful as possible. (Other parts of the poem elaborate.) The concurrent vigil--the kingfisher vigil--was a sustaining element of that preparation.