Birdheart

Oh, wouldn't I like to be

in 1925 when there was no colour.

When smoking was whizz

and laydees treated intercourse

as an interminable bore,

and pretended not to enjoy the 

tawdry nonsense whatsoever.

When one could still dream of

something which approximated a future

only halfway numbed by a world war won;

and with technology not yet owning everything

and the darkest recesses of the world

were not yet exposed to the spotlight's 

withering glare.

When wireless fuzzle still silvered the earshot,

when no-one would peach on a fellow,

when I still might have followed

the yellowbrick road

to where the bird had flown 

from the cage in my heart.

Reviews

[Zoe Richardson]

Yes, time marches on and it often marches right over us. I, too, have felt this pull to exist in a previous time. Then I remember things like antibiotics, polio and measles vaccines, and all the great music I might have missed. Not very romantic, I know, but it keeps me from growing too wistful. I really enjoyed this. Maybe we should start a speakeasy...

[Bhuyanshi Talukdar]

Your poem is a wistful and nostalgic reflection on a bygone era, when the world seemed simpler and more innocent. I love the way you describe the 1920s as a time when "smoking was whizz" and "laydees" treated sex as a "tawdry nonsense," as it captures the sense of propriety and repression that characterized that era. The way you describe the era as a time when people could still dream of a future that was "only halfway numbed by a world war won" is particularly poignant, as it speaks to the sense of hope and optimism that people must have felt after the end of the First World War. I also love the way you describe the technology of the time, with "wireless fuzzle" still "silvering the earshot," and the way you contrast this with the modern world, where technology seems to "own everything." Overall, I think your poem is a beautiful meditation on the passage of time and the way that nostalgia can color our memories of the past. It made me feel both melancholy and hopeful, and I really enjoyed reading it.

[1809 Black Plague Decem..]

Dear Andrew, that seems aghast. No feeling, numbness,
a grey vision, but to me there is a horizon, and innocence, and more
but I do agree, nowadays is good, :) ---Maynard