birds of a feather
ventriloquists of song and mynah word
we politely call your feathered form a bird
from squatty bogs to swooning heights
your haunting hoots do hush the night
birds care not nor give a hoot
birding’s but a human pursuit
our flock is but a reckless lot
yours can fly and mine cannot
colored by both heaven and earth
confounding twitchers with your mirth
balancing phone-lines an easy matter
listening to our chitter chatter
you build great nests of earth and twig
dance on leks announcing spring
you hum and flit the trumpet flower
attending ice-floes, royal attire
you streak to earth on hollow wings
pounce on unsuspecting crawly things
you hunt on wing the swimming beast
talons flash the family feasts
you roost on crags that scratch the sky
exotic paths you each year fly
veeing forms chase summer-set
veeing ponds on which you set
on winds of Fall you carry souls
swirling clouds of wings in rolls
threads of red and golden leaf
our world is hemmed in by your weave
the shoulder on which a miner leans
spare thee from its poisoned shore
RPW June 2007
2 comments:
I'd know this bird anywhere, even from a rear end view. Elmendorf's Hatchery has always been a sure place to get good looks at nesting American dippers. Thanks, Bob, for taking me back to Anchorage for a few moments today.
Hey, Bob, nice job! Love the writing and the pictures, too. Vera and Steve
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