the sound of the birds
the sound of the frogs in the forest
the sun sets
Tag: birds
NaPoWriMo Day 25
make a mess of it all
dissect living flesh without anasthetic
sow seeds to pluck later
sin’s littler flowers, rose-scented petals
so many, many thorns
feel the bones around the eyes
zygomaticocfacial foramen
posterior lacrimal crest
exotic birds waiting to sprout feathers
or fossilize like the ancient dinosaurs
they are
look at the t. rex skeleton
who says
hens don’t have teeth
other thanksgiving birds (20171123)
the hawk alights on the tree
after sweeping overhead
a quartet of crows caw
alerting everything below
to the hawk’s presence
not enough birds for a murder
but maybe enough to prevent one
voices in flight (20170515)
consider the old saying
that every time a bell rings
an angel gets its wings
and think of all the times
you have heard a cash register chime
or the wall street stock exchange
or a fire alarm
or the low slow clangs of cowbells
as they are led to the slaughterhouse
what the hell are those angels making
their feathers out of
misery, greed, blood and fire?
i have always preferred birdsong
an earthly tune to be sure
unfettered yet surrounded by sky
even if it is all about territory
and sexual conquest
and where the best worms are
night song (20161226)
when the sun sinks
birds shed feathers
skin moistening
as they slip into the creek
throats bulge with songs
they cannot contain
each a hymn
each a lullaby
Poem 20160414b
i watch the rat as he eats
the fallen seed the birds have dropped
in this early dusk. this spring
evening as the sun retreats
i have no animosity for the furry mopped
rodent. he’s not stealing from the finches
and the sinking sun makes him a soft thing
who measures his days in inches
——
Poem 20160131
we have some moonlight–
the only clothes we can bear
when we tremble side to side
your heart is a bird
shuddering and flying free
you draw me soaring after
—–
Hat tip to Elusive Trope for writing in this form, a sedoka, and to Shadow Poetry for a fine definition of sedoka and katauta.
Poem 20160119
uncounted
uncountable wheeling mass
of black birds
so much more
than a murder
more a massacre, really
a huge dark wheel
spinning over the axis
of a bare tree
fortuna, imperatrix mundi
she rises
she falls
her spokes
these black messengers
against a grey sky
Poem 20160114
so silent
i can hear the buzzing
in my ears
a thousand bees
or just the rushing of blood
or a damaged nerve
i hear what there is to hear
in this silence
outside
a bird flies to the feeder
disappointed
by the low seed
Poem 20160102
still water
cut by boats
cut by the sun
shining like a knife
across the surface
still water
supporting floating gulls and cormorants
lazily chasing darting sandpipers
–somewhere out of sight
the bark of a seal
a dog shakes the winter water
from his coat
emerging from the sea
smiling as only a dog can smile
in this mix of warm sun
cold ocean and fresh air
Words and Feathers 