Pigeon Pedigree

pigeons swoop from tree to tree nearby . . .

Jousting wings from tree to tree
flapping chevrons blurred filagree
gulping tiny cherries along a marquis
improvised landings flow feathery
gather into a cottonwood goatee
branch bumping squawkers disagree
pigeon premonition in hyperbole
wings blast off into a boiling sea
feather-swept chaparral scenery
plumage plunges pen ecstasy
dripping ink begs to set us free
streaked by tincture of trinity
ruffle swooping a bank of scree
pollen pump leads to pigeon glee
insisting upon their delight decree
an irresistible invite to you and me.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

some of the imagery in this make me think of a collision of nature and unfortunate ruination of it.
Chevron makes me think of the oil company...the inky sea...i think of oil spills, and pigeons with blackened wings weighed down, falling into the well...
the pigeon glee short circuited...
maybe we can save them and those like them, but taking more care with the environment.
j.

[barleygirl]

Your interpretation is a few thousand miles from anything I had been thinking while writing this & I love when that happens. The demise of the environment is always heavy on my mind & I'm often reading some book that buries concerns in my subconscious, so I'm not surprised I end up writing with twin-edged meanings! It's like what Rob says in his TG poem about not being able to be deeply thankful when so much crap is goingo on -- well, sometimes it's impossible to write a simple joyful nature poem without oil blobs on the horizon . . . funny you should mention "Chevron" since I'm reading a book about a "Texaco" founder! The planet isn't just for humans to exploit! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

My dad was an engineer for Texaco for 35 years...
Just a "few thousand miles"?
well I was really close then.

[Colacat]

The imagery in this is amazing, and really carries the mind away! It's just very beautiful, and a very free feeling to read. The rhyming and wording really all fits together so well.

[barleygirl]

Living in the wilderness I watch pigeons paint the trees like brush strokes, but most who read this poem have a bad impression of pigeons due to city living & an abundance of droppings. I love that you suspended any idea about this & just enjoyed the imagery (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Colacat]

Pigeons get so much hate, but they're birds like any other, and are another beautiful part of nature!

[Archishman Rick]

Exotic writing and imagery, your writing always spurs the fervent reader to keep their vocabulary beyond equipped. The countryside and sceneries you witnessed and grew up with served as a priceless shelf of creativity and artistic splendour that you have been stocking and displaying with your poetic passion. Metaphorically speaking, you are adept at adding a plethora of exotic spices and flavours to your dish, all while still keeping it simple, basic and healthy. Cheers and warm regards to you and the pigeons. By the way, what do you refer to by "trinity"?

[barleygirl]

To answer your "trinity" question first, I do not intend to impart any particular meaning to such a phrase, but just having fun seeing how readers read it. "Trinity" often refers to the Christian trio, but it can also refer to any trio of values or hurts or misunderstandings. I realize I use alot of words people are not familiar with & I get complaints all the time from those who do not find me an easy read. But I wrote for the masses for 30+ years as a technical writer & now this is my time to have fun with words & not worry about who understands me & who doesn't. Thank you for understanding where I'm coming from (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Archishman Rick]

Of course, Ms. Margie. Understand or not, people appreciate and relish it. Pour out at your heart's content. :D
Warm regards.

[redzone]

it is fun to watch pigeons swoop, change directions as one, land then take off together as though choreographed by some dance studio... I would watch them while sitting on a bench at Madison Square Park in NYC... I saw what a mess they made as well.. they are very messy birds and so I too read the poem in two ways, like Jacob seeing the way we damage the world we live in... love the poem Margie...

[barleygirl]

You are the first of 9 reviews who express enjoyment at watching pigeons! (Which is what I would've expected from you & very nicely shared, too!) Others see them as messy, therefore ugly. People see me that way, too. Reading reviews to this poem taught more than anything I was thinking as I wrote it! Thanks again for sharing your always-sparkling perspectives (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

I like the wording of this poem. The Rhyming kept me engaged to the end. Enjoyed the read. It was fun. Tyfs

[barleygirl]

To be honest, I wuz just bee-boppin' along, not really knowing where I wuz going, just enjoying the way words feel & sound! Thanks for picking up on that (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Kay/Hayden]

I adore all of your poems because of your word choices. My favorite line I would say is ruffle swooping a bank of scree". I do have one recommendation for future poems of yours. Having exotic words is always a must-need essential for poetry. Although, teher is such a thing as too much exotic vocabulary. Sadly, 99% of readers don't have time to search up every word in a poem to try to figure out what it means. I recommend trying to limit these words to 2-5 in a poem. If you need help, ask someone younger than you to read it and see if they understand it. Remember: Poetry isn't about how unique your words are, it is about if you can speak to your reader through your words. You can't speak to them if they don't understand it. -Kay

[barleygirl]

I agree that your premise is one that many might adopt becuz most writers strive for mass appeal, but I do not wish for this. I am satisfied with the other word lovers like me who do what I do. The others can wait for the poems which are less complex. How would you feel if I told you to limit your poems to only 2 to 5 mistakes . . . that is how audacious your suggestion is to me. You don't know me well enuf yet to presume what I want to accomplish by writing & whether or not it's working for me. Thank you for not talking to me like my writing goals are the generally accepted ones. You, of all people, should know how much fun it is to be preached about rules of being acceptable to the masses (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Kay/Hayden]

Thank you for showing me your perspectives. I guess we have very different perspectives on writing. I should never have assumed your goals for writing, as that was exrtemely foolish of me. I NEVER meant to offend you in any way. You opened my eyes that all writers have different goals, somehow I never realised that. This is very odd for me to write something like this, usually I try extremely hard to see other's prespectives. I must have been distracted or something, but I will not blame anyone else for my mistakes. I should have focused more on the review and realize people have different prespectives. I hope you can forgive me, and again I am so sorry. I never meant for you to change, but for some reason, my brain did not follow my typing. I hope you had a Great Thanksgiving. -Kay

[barleygirl]

I wrote many bad reviews at first, filled with my assumptions about life, about writing, about writers. We all learn & this is a great place to learn. There are many old writers here who care more about the process of writing, than about what anybody thinks about it. Then there are young writers who can sometimes care too much about what people think. The coming together of these 2 groups is part of the success of the cafe -- each side pulling the other side in a little different direction.

[Gee]

We call upper management pigeons and class ourselves as statues. Their job then is to fly in, s**t on us, then f**k off leaving us to sort out the mess left behind.
More tongue twisting wordsmithery :)
Good afternoon dear, hope all is well with you

[barleygirl]

It's such a delight to be dive-bombed with your s****y jaded point of view, my friend, becuz now I don't feel so tweaked that I can't come up with a better point of view myself these days. I pretty much hate pigeons, I hate the world, I hate humans & what they're doing to the planet. I better not go on. But the weird thing is, I've fashioned myself a life in the wilderness where I'm not even exposed to all this s**t, so I go around feeling like I'm living the best days of my life. It is absolutely sublime here where I live & I hardly have to deal with humans or society. I didn't realize how much I would grow to love being a grizzled loner in the woods (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Gee]

I could quite easily ditch mankind for dogkind :))

[Dave]

Reminds me of the times of walking on the boardwalk in Atlantic City and they would be strutting around. Keeping you distracted while the seagulls, hovering just overhead, are waiting for the chance to swoop down and steal that hotdog right off your bun.

[barleygirl]

You should write that into a longer poem, Dave. Take your time (you only take your time when you're writing about the allure of the female form). Tell it from the seagull's point of view & give him time to hover & observe & make mental comments about how stupid the human is or how juicy that hotdog looks. Come on, Dave! This is a poem that's crying to you! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dave]

Margie - okay - I'll give it a shot. Lots of hugs back to you - Dave

[Betty Hermelee]

Pigeons, although not preferred among many, should still get a pat on the back; but I see more in this poem, like nature is disintegrating, “ boiling sea” makes me think something terrible is going on...like we are cooped up ( in many ways) and need to be set free ( meaning us) from this terrible burden we are carrying..you mention the pen.. as though we are not free to write, again cooped up in this autocracy... ps I may be crazy!!!
Xo B

[barleygirl]

This is amazing! You & Jacob are the 2 poets that read my poem in this dark way & I can't help mentioning that I had been reading a book about the founder of Texaco & I have a bad impression of the oil industry & the stranglehold they have on the public psyche. I love your interpretation of the pen . . . I've often felt that way, exactly as you describe, not wanting to express the depth of how I feel about the issues of our day becuz I don't want to invite a pile-on of hateful avengers! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Betty Hermelee]

Hey Margie If you think i comment the way Jacob does, that’s a compliment to me!!!( ha ha)....by the by... have put up chapter 5 of COOL JOE , I think you’ll like it!
Hope so hugs and XO, B

[barleygirl]

Being compared to Jacob in ANYTHING is the highest degree of compliment for all of us!

[Delmar Cooper]

We have no pigeons here in my yard. I do see the winged hobos who walk between the parked cars at the grocery store scavenging for the errant potato chip. I am not a fan. But, I do have a great many doves that strut beneath my bird feeder and graze on the wasted seed spoiled from the trays by greedy cardinals and finches. I like the sound they make when flushed; it belies their dignity, makes them less regal somehow.

[barleygirl]

Thank you for the breadth & flapping awesomeness of your share. This is the best part of posting at the cafe is to have others expressing themselves so expansively about topics I care about & so I write about! Great share! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Christine Anne Shaw]

Not a pigeon lover normally, you make them sound quite inviting until they start misbehaving. Not a fan of squawkers. Pigeons are so clumsy and then all that pigeon poop. Yours must be nicer, or maybe you are more tolerant than I am of this species of avian irritation Margie. Whatever.you have penned a fine poem here. All good wishes from across the pond.

Chris

[barleygirl]

When I looked for a photo to go with my poem, all I get are these ugly shots of s****y bird messes on city sidewalks -- no wonder most people have a bad impression of pigeons. I should've used the word "dove" which is nearly synonymous! They are truly startling to watch in flight against a backdrop of trees or chaparral. Thanks for swooping by (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie