Fled is that Birdsong

There are some
who say birds
have memories,
that some fly
across the world
to sit out winter
somewhere warm,
then they remember
the way back home.
 
They say birds
can remember
the songs of birds
back up their line,

and sing

the same songs

their dinosaur cousins
danced to all day long.
 
These are people
who get excited
when they hear
a bird on a bough
in the evening
singing a song

they say

was composed

aeons before

wild men in skins

caught the music bug
and passed it on
down the line.
 
They are people
who remind me
of people who
pore,
they pore over
a lump of coal
like it's a history
of time,
they pore over
a poem
like it captures
a moment of truth,
and they pore over
a sentence
till they get it
to mean
what they mean
by the fleeting
birdsong moment.

.

Reviews

[Eilis]

This has changed a little since I first read it. I like the changes. I wrote a poem once that began with something like ‘some say’ and I caught some flack for that because a few people disputed my shared knowledge. But I think it’s a valid way to approach knowledge whether it’s shared or not.

I never think poetry has to be collective agreement. In fact, I think it should offer new knowledge and discoveries so we can learn and grow when we encounter it. So, obviously I liked your approach at the beginning. It makes me think of origins and how we explore time and ideas and try to figure out for ourselves what all these things we encounter mean. Are we connected to the past, and if so in what ways? Do we, like those birds, have the ability to understand a language we’ve never actually encountered?

But, that’s only the beginning. I feel like this is a reaching toward understanding the idea of wonder itself. The type of mind that doesn’t rest until the current mystery it is pondering is unfurled. Or as close to unfurled as it can be.

I really enjoyed the variations on how that manifests in both creative pursuits and in life encounters. So much of what we know or understand begins and ends within the confines of our minds. It’s compelling to think about how all of these things work. From birdsong to sentence. The beauty is all around and inviting us to understand, or, at the very least, revel in it.

I enjoyed this poem very much, Gerald.

[Gerald Parker]

I think I've finished tinkering with this (long) poem now. It seems to match what you have written and assures me that it works. I have tried to use the medium of other people as you have noticed, I suppose, to add the authority of authenticity, Thank you very much for your remarks, Eilis, enjoyable as ever.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Loved this well done beautiful

[Gerald Parker]

Thank you, Julie. This has changed in places since I first posted it. I hope you still like it! I appreciate you stopping by. G