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Poem 

Messenger from Heaven

September 28, 2021 – Indiana

The morning Pappy left this world,

a golden crown appeared at our window—

tiny claws clinging to the screen,

wings trembling from a long, unseen flight.

He panted,

eyes bright with a message we already knew.

We offered water;

he drank as if it were grace itself.

Then—

peace settled over us like autumn light,

and with a breath of wings,

he was gone…

…leaving only the knowing

that love can cross any distance.

_______________________

Here is the long story of Messenger from Heaven

It was the quiet morning of Tuesday, September 28, 2021, when my husband, Noel, received a call from his mother, Rosa. Her voice carried the weight of news that would change the day—his father, Salvador “Pappy” Pol, had passed away just minutes earlier at the age of 92.

While Noel was still speaking with her, a small movement caught my eye at the window. There, clinging to the window screen outside, was a tiny male Golden-crowned Kinglet, his bright yellow crown glowing like a drop of sunlight. He seemed to be panting, as if weary from a long journey, and his dark eyes searched with an urgency that felt almost human.

We offered him water, and to our amazement, he drank. It was as though time paused—this fragile life before us, so alive, so present, on a morning marked by loss. We both felt it, unspoken but understood: birds have long been seen as messengers from the divine, carriers of comfort from realms beyond. And in that moment, we knew—this little kinglet was Pappy’s hello.

A calm, almost tangible peace settled over us as we watched him gather himself. Then, with a flicker of wings, he was gone.

It was autumn in Indiana, the trees shifting into their golds and reds, and the air carrying the scent of change. I took a photograph before he flew away, knowing I had been witness to something more than chance. Later, I painted him—not just as a bird, but as the messenger he was. A reminder that love finds its way across even the greatest distance