Don’t leave

Chilean Swallow

“Where will it go, swift and weary…the little swallow that flies away from here? Up in the skies it’ll find it self lost, seeking shelter, and finding none. Beside my bed I will place its nest, so it can spend the season safe. I too am lost in this land, Oh, holy heavens!, and also unable to fly”.

I learned this song as a child, when I joined my school choir. I don’t think I truly understood it, but it always made me feel sad—nostalgic for something I couldn’t quite name. Maybe a past life, maybe a future one.

Years later, as an adult exploring the Chiloé Archipelago in the south of Chile, I came across swallows nesting in an old church. Their flight reminded me of the Concorde—elegant and smooth, fast and precise—and their squeaky calls became a kind of signal from then on, something that made me look up at the sky every time I heard it.

As they perched on the church roof, the sun caught the iridescent blue feathers beneath their wings, giving them a kind of regal, almost princely look. It contrasted with their tiny size and perfectly aerodynamic shape.

I felt privileged—to know them, to be so close, to witness their flight. I wished them a safe journey, wherever they were headed next, hoping the story of the song would not repeat itself for them.

Dimensions: 25×25 CM