Tag: birds

Song for George



My friend, it's cliché
 but you know what I'll say,
I hope to see you again.

In time, you'll return
 on a day you discern;
I hope it's me that you find.

My dear, I'll hold fast
 to a love which outlasts
Eternity and a year.

When you fly away
 doesn't mean you won't stay,
It's only a day's goodbye.

The spread of your wings
 is the nature of things,
A growth by adventure fed.

Be safe and live free;
 I'll continue to be
Your friend, though your absence chafes.

Go roam where you will
 and I'll visit until
Love reunites us at home.

Our Best Friends

Percy and Franklin,
I still think about you two.
May we meet again.
Talk to me Norman.
Any whisper you breathe
Makes my soul lighter.

Oh my darling George,
I'll never forget seeing
You in the preserve
Next door, (far from home to me.)
You came back with love's ascent.
Steve, what a blessing
To see you running to me
With warmest welcome.
Little striped ducky,
What is your name I wonder,
Our friend Zebra's child.
Zebra moved along
With a few of her ducklings;
We'll always love her.
Wonderful Helmet,
You most amazing mother,
Your little white head 
Reminds me of the Mama's 
Before who mothered our friends.
Edgar's soft whirring,
A duckling nipping the air:
Little things they do
That remind me of Granite.
How he loved his blueberries.

Blue jay, hi! Blue jay, ho!

Blue jay, hi! Blue jay, ho!
Springing from each angled bough,
  Fluttering aground,
    Pulled aloft like a puppet
  Back up to the browned
    Bower barely above it.
Blue jay high, blue jay low!

One goodbye, one hello;
Wondering time, watch its tow.
  See it standing still?
    On the first of diversions
  Seasons start to spill;
    Lead our lovely excursions
Blue jay, hi! Blue jay, ho!

Blue I sigh, feeling slow
And inert. How to go
  Where I want to be,
    (And where is that exactly?)
  More than merely me,
    Maybe. It depends on who's asking—
Then at once: blue jay, yo!

Every day marvels show
Beauty's spark flash in both
  Beings grandiose
    And the commonplace creatures;
  Perhaps I learn the most
    From these humblest of teachers.
I get high, I lay low.

You, my love, you are so
Blue, but know that although
  Sometimes we must lay 
    In the valleys and doldrums,
  Always comes the day.
    Who knows when we'll behold some
Blue jay high, blue jay low!

One of Many Things

I think what I adore about you most
is your compassion for creatures in need:
the softshell turtle caught in dirt you freed;
protecting the mother hens on the coast
of the pond from a rowdy drake engrossed
in his hormones; and when you took the lead
trapping and releasing to his green weeds
the little lizard found on our bedpost.

Spiders, moths, and even juvenile wasps,
you do what you can to bring them from harm.
Even when exhausted you don't exhaust
your kindness for helpless things. That's the charm
which draws us to your arms, especially
the one who needs you more than any: me.