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.

[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 Eclipsing Moon. (Haven't seen one of them in a long time.) :-)

[Raquelita]

I am a birdwatcher. I grew up an orphan in a huge extended family, and spent most of my childhood building forts and blinds in the woods. By the age of 7 I knew almost every species of tree, plant, flower, mammal, and bird in the 5 acres around my PA home. At age 8, my friends and I started the state's second largest bluebird nesting box project. Due partly to combined efforts of our groups, the Eastern Bluebird was taken off the threatened species list for the state of PA. Here in Central America, I always select a location to stay where I can document the birds and hear them sing every morning. My closest associate has been working for decades to protect our birds' wintering grounds, as well as his own species he knows and loves. It is so much a part of who we are, how we interact with the natural world, isn't it? We start to feel the tides in our blood, the trees growing in our bones, the birds singing and calling and nesting in our hearts.

I thought this was a lovely poem that was worth a second visit.

-M

[LJW]

Worthy work. Now if someone could manage to help save the American bee population...and so many other species.

I spent every summer on a farm in Milford PA. Right on a lake. Here is where my love for all things that fly, swim, etc.., and my love for simple living came from.

TY so much for revisiting.

[Raquelita]

Funny you mention bees. Friday, I visited a Central American research station, one of the few of its kind in the world, dedicated to the preservation of biodiversity in honeybees. We got to taste honey from several different species, and I held one of the world's smallest ones in my hands- about the size of a carpenter ant. They are tracking colony collapse and researching different production methods. Like the NYS Cooperative extension, they have found that small colonies in round hives are more resistant to colony collapse disorder.

[LJW]

Interesting. The newest buzz in the US is that bees are being diminished by cutting corners using fake honey?? Gotta look up the details....a blurb about it was on my FB page.

[Raquelita]

That practice is in China, but is more a result than a cause of the bee population declines. The current thinking is that it is more a combination of a mite, a virus, a fungus, and usage of some pesticides; or, depending on locale, some combination of those factors.

[Emily B]

my children think i am the bird lady, too, i have pointed out the ones around me so often that now my kids point them out to me

your writing is stunning, as always

love this one

[LJW]

Thank you my friend. Right back at ya......

[Marie Anzalone]

The reviewers who came before me mention loneliness, but that is not what I feel. I feel solitude, refuge, quiet inspiration, discovery. A cure, not a symptom, of ennui.

You have no idea how strongly I relate to this. I ahve studied the tiny swirling things, and tracked the loons across the night sky and once even had the falcon land. It was all so much just a part of my own backdrop that I never thought it was noteworthy to anyone else. The dressers collected much dust for notes never jotted dwn. I am ttying to learn, how.

This is quiet and brilliant and far more powerful in message than the simple despcriptions might deceive you into thinking. I find that is true of much of your work.

[LJW]

Thank you Marie.

Everything and everything that contributes to who we are is write worthy.

[Marie Anzalone]

Thank you, LJW, I think I am slowly starting to learn that lesson. Forgive me, please- we do not always start in the same place.

btw.. advise you to block the writer "Publishing Agent." She seems to have some sort of personal agenda to bring down the ratings of good writers on site.

[LJW]

What do you ask forgiveness for, MA? Being awesome? :-)

[Marie Anzalone]

naw for not thinking anythign was worth saying :-)
need a few more years under my belt for the title of awesome, I think :-)

[Through the Gateway]

Marie, you have a black-belt in awesomeness and a PhD in humbleness. :)

Both of you are awesome. There...that settles it. ;)

Blessings.

[LJW]

Marie. Marie. Marie.

Take your Smart Phone with voice activated capability on a walk through one of your favorite spots. Pretend you are above yourself, watching yourself and your surroundings. You can use the VA right on the WC writing place as you're adding new writing. Sit. Feel. Don't overthink or over embellish.

For some writers it is harder to do less.
For some writers it is harder to do more.

For me, less IS more.

[Through the Gateway]

I'll vouch for her: she doesn't HAVE a smart phone. :/


We need to pass the hat to get her a Digital Voice Recorder. ;)

[Marie Anzalone]

Have not had a paycheck in 7 months. Let's get rent covered first, shall we? I am starting to think I may get sick of refried beans and eggs real soon...

But, LJ, I see exactly where you are coming from. I did that, I think. On my flight down here. It turned into my "Sun Dog."

[LJW]

Are you on South America?

[Marie Anzalone]

Central America: Guatemala more or less FT now, New England Part-time. Starting an international NGO in climate change.

[LJW]

You go girl. In my past life, I wanted to be just like you but I chickened out.

In this life, I also wanted to be just like you but chickened out.

You rock. So f*****g hard.

[Marie Anzalone]

I rent a gorgeous 3 BR home/ office here in the mountains. You are welcome any time for a visit.
read moreI rent a gorgeous 3 BR home/ office here in the mountains. You are welcome any time for a visit.

[LJW]

How much is a one way ticket?

[Marie Anzalone]

I paid $430 for my last one. :-)

[LJW]

Unfortunately, the heat and humidity would liquefy me.

[Marie Anzalone]

Ah but I live at 8000' in the mountains. And we have trade winds. I actually consider this the world's most perfect climate, and a carefully guarded secret: between 40 and 52 degrees at night, 75-85 degrees by day. This time of year, an afternoon rain shower daily. Then 5 months without. :-)

[LJW]

Tease.

[Marie Anzalone]

sure beats the hell out of CT summer and winter. But I do miss Autumn. They call the Western Highlands here, "The Land of Eternal Spring." It really is spectacular. Have you looked at any of my phots on site? They kind of speak for themselves.

[LJW]

No, but I will.

[ba_mcfarlane]

Harsh and stark of manner, the raw loneliness it conveys left me both captured and startled. Great poetry for grownups. Bravo.

[LJW]

Loneliness happens when I am away from the places that nature carves out as my sanctuaries....forests, farms, bodies of water.

[Mockingbird]

brings to mind an older lady new to writing poetry. she feels compelled to write, so she goes out into nature. she seems weary but heeds her calling. as she spends time out there she learns much about nature, the little things, and she learns about the behavior of the birds. excellent poem. brings a sense of calm.

[LJW]

Excellent interpretation. Older lady et al. :-)

[arbitrary jane]

oh my heart. this is aching with never-been's. with almosts... the subtext i read is fear... all the things that never happened. that no one ever said... the negative space... and she only at the park, - settled as the dust on the writing table that carries the epithet 'as if' - wishing improbable things would happen to her.
such a mournful piece, and done superbly. allowing the reader to delve and decipher.

[LJW]

Thank you, although a very late thank you.

[Kevin Vorshak]

Striking portrayal of life. There really isn't much I can say that the others haven't already. Loved the beginning and the way you set up your protagonist in general. You really paint an interesting, if not melancholy, picture of her. A lonely person who finds relief in an otherwise bland existence through the love of birds.

[LJW]

Solitary person. Unlike a lonely person. A person who chooses to be by herself.

Thank you for your comments.

[Ms. Gruye]

To attempt to describe my adoration for this piece would be like trying to thread a needle with a bumble bee which is to say it's impossible. But I am going to try any how. Many kudos have already been given by previous reviewers, so I will not bore you to pieces.

My favorite part--the fourth stanza. I love the notion of defining a character by what no one told them. Clever, clever. Thanks for posting this. It makes me want to write a poem. You done inspired a poem in me! Viva la

[LJW]

I wish I'd replied to these comments before.

Many thanks.