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Saturday, April 30, 2016

NaPoWriMo 2016, Day 22: for the Birds

For today, a writer named Gloria Gonsalves challenges us all to write a poem that can be construed as being about Earth Day.  I was struck by a sinfonetta of bird conversation as I leaned out my window before breakfast on this gorgeous spring morning.  Where do they sleep, anyway, and can one species really speak to another?  What would they say to me if they could? It got me going with the idea for this poem.  


If Birds Could Talk
        Shirley Smith Franklin

'Heard one bird sing
as I leaned out the window,
something more like a 'tuk-tuk'
rejoined by another, 'teedleedl.'
followed by noise of still a third,
like a spoon cast into a cup.

Hoarse rasp of crow;
Tuk-tuk, and teedl-, spoon, cup!.
A piercing, metallic cry
slices through conversation.
Silence reigns for an interval;
pierce and cry fly away.

A little bit stronger now,
from orchestral hideaways
the rasp returns, condescending,
while tuk, teedl-, spoon resume
parent-t0-child conversation,
"You can play after breakfast."

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