Bird Lady

She was the crack in the priceless vase

the sum total of all that went before her
minus anyone yet to come and she was only
looking for a  place to lay her tired  head
with a  pitched roof that didn't leak and a
dog that didn't howl when the moon was full

 

The thickening of her waist came about
two years after the dust settled white

on the slant top desk with the hidden
compartment she hunches over

as if she's dedicated her life to writing
something important enough to share

 

No one told her that egrets croak like frogs
or that a loon calls for his mate long after
her death or that still water is swirling
with tiny organisms and baby whirlpools

directly below the translucent surface

so she arranges seeds on her palm
hoping that a bird swoops down and lands
on her outstretched hand without making a sound

 

When she is finished with the birds she will
straighten her back as best she can and head

back home thinking of what to say

and how to best describe nature as she sees it
on her frequent walks through the deep woods

where robins pull worms from the mud at the water's
edge and  foundling sparrow fall from their nests

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Ken Simm.]

As with Marie I relate so much to this. A large part of my life has been birds. I have been a falconer and I have painted them for ever. I have been blessed with so many wonderful sights and pleasures that have been part of the natural world and these have coloured every aspect of all of my art.
For those reasons and more, I too do not see this as lonely. I also see it as solitude and not in a sad way but in a wonderous way.
This writing is itself wonderous in its composition and construction not just in its subject matter. I am honestly astounded.

[LJW]

Thank you so much. This piece is autobiographic. I an indeed the bird lady. Growing up in New England with avid bird watching artist parents, I too was surrounded with nature. Birds are my favorite. I could, and do, watch them for hours.

[Larry Dyson]

@ Ken and LJW...I so agree about the solitude being enjoyed and relished.. I love the recreation of the feelings and emotions are so intense as to make it as if I were there..bravo!

[LJW]

Thank you for your kind words.

[Emily B]

Your poems age like fine wine. I am pleased to visit again.

[LJW]

Hi Emily!!
Thank you so much.
I've had writers block for over 3 years. Just now getting inspiration and moving back into my writing sites.
Looking forward to reading your work I've missed in my absence., my friend.

[SkinlessFrank]

I'm sitting up here a mile north of the Vermont border in waist-deep snow, watching the wind blow the puff of snow from the top branches of the beech trees, and dreaming about the spring peepers who will emerge from the frozen pond in early May. Most of them will die before mating, just like those sparrows, but as you say, this is what life is all about.

[LJW]

It is indeed the circle of life; the yin yang.

I've been away from here for too long. I'm back and looking forward to reading your new work.

[Richard simpson]

I enjoyed reading this poem, it is haunting, yet, so intriguingly beautiful, this is a work of an artist at her high point. She has taken the strange and weird and put new life into it. It is a great poem and I hope to read more of your work.

[LJW]

Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words.
I have been away but appreciate your comments.

[Vesa Lee]

"She was the crack in the priceless vase
the sum total of all that went before her"

Wow, what a way to start off. :) This piece was so brilliantly set up - I can almost imagine you stacking each word with dedicated concentration like one would a jenga tower.
I'm sure much has been made of the imagery in the reviews below, and rightful so because it really did captivate with each line. Great piece. So glad it was recommended to me. :)

[LJW]

Thank you, Vesa.

Jenga gives me anxiety. So does thinking too much while writing

[p.kuhl]

This is quite a telling portrait you have painted here. I love reading this aloud, especially the third stanza, so beautiful..."No one told her that egrets croak like frogs" such a lovely line. I can see this woman, this life.

[LJW]

Thanks so much.

It's cool to paint a portrait others can see.

[Mike Emil]

Alfred Hitchcock will get you for this
HAI!!!

[LJW]

lol

[Russell Munroe]

Something in the tone of the first two stanzas reminded me of a woman I did yardwork for, beginning when I was about fourteen. After I had finished mowing the lawn or pulling weeds, I'd come in and visit with her. Catharine was a dedicated spinster who enjoyed collecting art glass paperweights and reading. Her eyes were well on their way to failing her. She was legally blind, though she did her best with an intense prescription. Occasionally, when I was enjoying a glass of cold water and possibly a sandwich she had kindly made for me...she'd ask me to help her identify which lagre-print books or audio materials had arrived from the Washington State services for the blind. Often, she would send me home with back issues of Smithsonian magazine. Catharine was my favorite client.

Thank you for this beautiful poem.

[LJW]

Thank you Russell for reading and commenting.

Catharine. The quintessential old lady name. Thanks for sharing that story. I love old people as much s I love birds......

You have a poem waiting to be written in that little story.

[Russell Munroe]

"You have a poem waiting to be written in that little story."

Yes, I think you are right on that.
I started realizing that as I recalled some of those details about our interactions. We had a friendship that transcended the service provider and client relationship. I miss her and remember her fondly.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Such an amazing bit of imagery in this piece. I'm fascinated with birds, myself, though I have never actually owned one. I can sit, however, at the beach and watch them fly for hours on end imagining what it would be like to see from their eyes.

This was a very well laid out and well written piece. As I said, the imagery was fantastic, and the metaphors just as divine. I love pieces that are written about "real life", and I feel that this one had a strong under current of the relevant and true. Perhaps you are the "Bird Lady"...?

[LJW]

Yes, I am indeed the bird lady.

Thank you for your review. Means a lot, Sarah.

[John Lauterbach]

I feel like some of the pacing felt weird with the use of new lines, but the whole piece was both sad and beautiful. I enjoyed the last stanza a lot with how you brought all the birds into it.

[LJW]

I agree John. The pacing IS weird. Cool that you mentioned it.

Thanks for your comments.

[JenniferMarie]

Love this! wow. I do this! walk away from the pond thinking of how to best describe things. It's just such a wonderful thing that writers have in them to want to convey the beauty of things so that people can see it. I think this is a brilliant write and I connected with it. Your detailed images, very nicely done.

My fav part:

so she throws stale bread in the pond
hoping that a falcon swoops down and lands
on her outstretched arm without making a sound.

When she is finished with the birds she will
straighten her back as best she can and walk
all the way back home thinking of what to say
and how to best describe nature as she sees it
on her frequent walks through the deep woods:
where robins pull worms from the mud at the water's
edge and foundling sparrow fall from their nests.

But all was well done and well written.

[LJW]

Thank you so much, Jennifer. Glad you dropped by.

There seems to be a lot of nature/bird lovers here.

[JenniferMarie]

I'm a bird lover. :) I do love sparrows. I watch them at the dog park. They glide through the tall blades of grass.