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"blackbirds" poems
Why am I so dif-fer-ent? They say I’m out of touch. Why am I, ple-nar-ily sad? This life it hurts so much. And why do they come, come every day? Shush, quiet now, they’re here. Those awful tormentors of my soul all cackling and queer! Whirling head of spinning revolutions, …feel my stomach ache and pang. Why will they not leave me alone? This crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. I shouldn’t always feel like this, feel such solemn pain, …troubling and trouble is these birds are driving me insane! I’m screaming now! I’m mad with rage! Throwing ice cubes at my deck, “Go away! Yes, go away!” -their numbers must be kept in check. Blackhole-whirl, flying twirling darkness, their funnel it points to me-e-e-e-! For too many is too painful and my mind’s a constant wreck! One cannot think with those infernal be-e-e-asts, ...and the crazy song they sang. Why do they so punish me? The crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. I know they serve the Saturn’s wheel and now they’ve come for me. What did I do? Oh what great sin, oh the blackbirds from within; The Abyssimal Sea? Their whirlpool funnel is all around, as my harried soul, it expiates. I’m done-in; I’m over now, a sorely victim of the Fates! They took me, took me away, when the tolling bell it rang. Why could they not leave me alone? The crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. If you find yourself all alone and mired in their thought, …do not think, extirpate, all the human damage that you’ve wrought. His flock of fledgling melancholy musical formation, …will take you away and straight to Hell; the Seventh Circle congregation! For they took me, took me away, when the tolling bell it rang. And they will not leave you alone. This crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. *
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Jun 23, 2016
Jun 23, 2016 at 11:23 AM UTC
A Crowing Lamentation
Why am I so dif-fer-ent? They say I’m out of touch. Why am I, ple-nar-ily sad? This life it hurts so much. And why do they come, come every day? Shush, quiet now, they’re here. Those awful tormentors of my soul all cackling and queer! Whirling head of spinning revolutions, …feel my stomach ache and pang. Why will they not leave me alone? This crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. I shouldn’t always feel like this, feel such solemn pain, …troubling and trouble is these birds are driving me insane! I’m screaming now! I’m mad with rage! Throwing ice cubes at my deck, “Go away! Yes, go away!” -their numbers must be kept in check. Blackhole-whirl, flying twirling darkness, their funnel it points to me-e-e-e-! For too many is too painful and my mind’s a constant wreck! One cannot think with those infernal be-e-e-asts, ...and the crazy song they sang. Why do they so punish me? The crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. I know they serve the Saturn’s wheel and now they’ve come for me. What did I do? Oh what great sin, oh the blackbirds from within; The Abyssimal Sea? Their whirlpool funnel is all around, as my harried soul, it expiates. I’m done-in; I’m over now, a sorely victim of the Fates! They took me, took me away, when the tolling bell it rang. Why could they not leave me alone? The crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. If you find yourself all alone and mired in their thought, …do not think, extirpate, all the human damage that you’ve wrought. His flock of fledgling melancholy musical formation, …will take you away and straight to Hell; the Seventh Circle congregation! For they took me, took me away, when the tolling bell it rang. And they will not leave you alone. This crew of darkness; Blackbird Gang. *
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36
Stepping out into the yard, my curvéd bow strung tight. Thereupon my driveway, three blackbirds share the light. The moment is opportune, it must be now, do or die. I've got thoughts of my belly filled with hearty blackbird pie. "What did they ever do to you? They're not a threat in the least." Yet should I die in my own yard, they'd pick me for the feast.
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May 16, 2012
May 16, 2012 at 2:09 PM UTC
Blackbird Pie
It was my thirtieth year to heaven Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood And the mussel pooled and the heron Priested shore The morning beckon With water praying and call of seagull and rook And the knock of sailing boats on the net webbed wall Myself to set foot That second In the still sleeping town and set forth. My birthday began with the water- Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses And I rose In rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. High tide and the heron dived when I took the road Over the border And the gates Of the town closed as the town awoke. A springful of larks in a rolling Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling Blackbirds and the sun of October Summery On the hill's shoulder, Here were fond climates and sweet singers suddenly Come in the morning where I wandered and listened To the rain wringing Wind blow cold In the wood faraway under me. Pale rain over the dwindling harbour And over the sea wet church the size of a snail With its horns through mist and the castle Brown as owls But all the gardens Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud. There could I marvel My birthday Away but the weather turned around. It turned away from the blithe country And down the other air and the blue altered sky Streamed again a wonder of summer With apples Pears and red currants And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother Through the parables Of sun light And the legends of the green chapels And the twice told fields of infancy That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine. These were the woods the river and sea Where a boy In the listening Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his joy To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide. And the mystery Sang alive Still in the water and singingbirds. And there could I marvel my birthday Away but the weather turned around. And the true Joy of the long dead child sang burning In the sun. It was my thirtieth Year to heaven stood there then in the summer noon Though the town below lay leaved with October blood. O may my heart's truth Still be sung On this high hill in a year's turning.
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12.2k
Poem In October
It was my thirtieth year to heaven Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood And the mussel pooled and the heron Priested shore The morning beckon With water praying and call of seagull and rook And the knock of sailing boats on the net webbed wall Myself to set foot That second In the still sleeping town and set forth. My birthday began with the water- Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses And I rose In rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days. High tide and the heron dived when I took the road Over the border And the gates Of the town closed as the town awoke. A springful of larks in a rolling Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling Blackbirds and the sun of October Summery On the hill's shoulder, Here were fond climates and sweet singers suddenly Come in the morning where I wandered and listened To the rain wringing Wind blow cold In the wood faraway under me. Pale rain over the dwindling harbour And over the sea wet church the size of a snail With its horns through mist and the castle Brown as owls But all the gardens Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud. There could I marvel My birthday Away but the weather turned around. It turned away from the blithe country And down the other air and the blue altered sky Streamed again a wonder of summer With apples Pears and red currants And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother Through the parables Of sun light And the legends of the green chapels And the twice told fields of infancy That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine. These were the woods the river and sea Where a boy In the listening Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his joy To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide. And the mystery Sang alive Still in the water and singingbirds. And there could I marvel my birthday Away but the weather turned around. And the true Joy of the long dead child sang burning In the sun. It was my thirtieth Year to heaven stood there then in the summer noon Though the town below lay leaved with October blood. O may my heart's truth Still be sung On this high hill in a year's turning.
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70
Some love to watch the sea bushes appearing at dawn, To see night fall from the goose wings, and to hear The conversations the night sea has with the dawn. If we can't find Heaven, there are always bluejays. Now you know why I spent my twenties crying. Cries are required from those who wake disturbed at dawn. Adam was called in to name the Red-Winged Blackbirds, the Diamond Rattlers, and the Ring-Tailed Raccoons washing God in the streams at dawn. Centuries later, the Mesopotamian gods, All curls and ears, showed up; behind them the Generals With their blue-coated sons who will die at dawn. Those grasshopper-eating hermits were so good To stay all day in the cave; but it is also sweet To see the fenceposts gradually appear at dawn. People in love with the setting stars are right To adore the baby who smells of the stable, but we know That even the setting stars will disappear at dawn.
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9.5k
Dawn
The world begins again! Not wholly insufflated the blackbirds in the rain upon the dead topbranches of the living tree, stuck fast to the low clouds, notate the dawn. Their shrill cries sound announcing appetite and drop among the bending roses and the dripping grass.
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7k
The Birds
lonely as a dry and used orchard spread over the earth for use and surrender. shot down like an ex-pug selling dailies on the corner. taken by tears like an aging chorus girl who has gotten her last check. a hanky is in order your lord your worship. the blackbirds are rough today like ingrown toenails in an overnight jail--- wine wine whine, the blackbirds run around and fly around harping about Spanish melodies and bones. and everywhere is nowhere--- the dream is as bad as flapjacks and flat tires: why do we go on with our minds and pockets full of dust like a bad boy just out of school--- you tell me, you who were a hero in some revolution you who teach children you who drink with calmness you who own large homes and walk in gardens you who have killed a man and own a beautiful wife you tell me why I am on fire like old dry garbage. we might surely have some interesting correspondence. it will keep the mailman busy. and the butterflies and ants and bridges and cemeteries the rocket-makers and dogs and garage mechanics will still go on a while until we run out of stamps and/or ideas. don't be ashamed of anything; I guess God meant it all like locks on doors.
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6.2k
The Blackbirds Are Rough Today
I Among twenty snowy mountains, The only moving thing Was the eye of the black bird. II I was of three minds, Like a tree In which there are three blackbirds. III The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. It was a small part of the pantomime. IV A man and a woman Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird Are one. V I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling Or just after. VI Icicles filled the long window With barbaric glass. The shadow of the blackbird Crossed it, to and fro. The mood Traced in the shadow An indecipherable cause. VII O thin men of Haddam, Why do you imagine golden birds? Do you not see how the blackbird Walks around the feet Of the women about you? VIII I know noble accents And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is involved In what I know. IX When the blackbird flew out of sight, It marked the edge Of one of many circles. X At the sight of blackbirds Flying in a green light, Even the bawds of euphony Would cry out sharply. XI He rode over Connecticut In a glass coach. Once, a fear pierced him, In that he mistook The shadow of his equipage For blackbirds. XII The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying. XIII It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. The blackbird sat In the cedar-limbs.
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6k
Thirteen Ways Of Looking At A Blackbird
The scattered words disturb the silence. I prefer written pages with my left hand, But it is trembling too much to write slowly I miss him, his calm hands giving juicy oranges. Shattered glass falls in slow motion, Screams in the apartment, Just the neighbor next door. Another struggle, Another soundless fracture From the outside, It’s not visible What really hurts. I have my refuge. My piano and fingertips Strike the rhythm, Racing to speak in time. What I want to repeat to myself It isn’t lush or gentle, Only barren, like thoughts hung on a dry twig. I trace figure eights, Locked in a simple shape. I stare and cannot fathom The logic of a cold two plus two. A thought-form circles Around the blue planet. Something pointing, With its mercury finger. It speaks in an unknown dialect It shows the place to live And huge fluorescent deserts. The clouds’ minds — A piece of earth Soaked in different Kinds of screams. This is my blind chance. I was born here. In my mother’s paradise garden Spinning in dawn’s glow. Sometimes I just write To ease personal and common guilt. I hear tattooed numbers, Granting citizenship of the lower caste. And here, The fresh scent of good life in the morning. Blackbirds and thrushes fell silent. My mother knows how to speak to them, I know how to speak with trees. Everything pulses, On this small piece of earth, Giving shelter to creatures And stones no one throws. I am here in a place I can happily bear, Without cold speculation. I can still dive into metaphors, This is my greatest luxury, The gift after so many disturbing lives. It would be better to create a world With only diverse breathing gardens. I don’t need too much for living, A naked soul is enough for me. So, I am sitting in this landscape And I peacefully hope That my daughter will remember me tenderly As I remember him, my father And all who passed away. The simplest thing is The presence of every human being It's like a celluloid film strip Left behind the broken ribs In the left ventricle of the heart That never lies, never cheats me.
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Sep 3, 2025
Sep 3, 2025 at 3:13 PM UTC
Anchor of Blue Planet
The scattered words disturb the silence. I prefer written pages with my left hand, But it is trembling too much to write slowly I miss him, his calm hands giving juicy oranges. Shattered glass falls in slow motion, Screams in the apartment, Just the neighbor next door. Another struggle, Another soundless fracture From the outside, It’s not visible What really hurts. I have my refuge. My piano and fingertips Strike the rhythm, Racing to speak in time. What I want to repeat to myself It isn’t lush or gentle, Only barren, like thoughts hung on a dry twig. I trace figure eights, Locked in a simple shape. I stare and cannot fathom The logic of a cold two plus two. A thought-form circles Around the blue planet. Something pointing, With its mercury finger. It speaks in an unknown dialect It shows the place to live And huge fluorescent deserts. The clouds’ minds — A piece of earth Soaked in different Kinds of screams. This is my blind chance. I was born here. In my mother’s paradise garden Spinning in dawn’s glow. Sometimes I just write To ease personal and common guilt. I hear tattooed numbers, Granting citizenship of the lower caste. And here, The fresh scent of good life in the morning. Blackbirds and thrushes fell silent. My mother knows how to speak to them, I know how to speak with trees. Everything pulses, On this small piece of earth, Giving shelter to creatures And stones no one throws. I am here in a place I can happily bear, Without cold speculation. I can still dive into metaphors, This is my greatest luxury, The gift after so many disturbing lives. It would be better to create a world With only diverse breathing gardens. I don’t need too much for living, A naked soul is enough for me. So, I am sitting in this landscape And I peacefully hope That my daughter will remember me tenderly As I remember him, my father And all who passed away. The simplest thing is The presence of every human being It's like a celluloid film strip Left behind the broken ribs In the left ventricle of the heart That never lies, never cheats me.
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72
Oh simplicity how you reach out to my closed arms   in fear of how simple it may be to be happy   Without worldly posessions in grasps of their needy hands I've never felt so at peace as the trade winds sweep my hair on delicate sunsets of May   where red wine makes me lush but aware...   of the magnificence of this moment,  here,  now. The geese migrate, I seperate from the man made sounds of the city   although the connect the dots of street lights seem to guide me The shifting landscape   the shifted skew of my life   five years ago I wouldn't have guessed this far The time is so simple, slow-moving, sweet    I can almost feel the heart beat of excitement   or the beat within my youthful feet. The railroad still gleams at dusk   as does the lake shine   as does the hidden blackbirds and blossoms of springtime. I now spend here alone as I did when I was young   troubled, I would run.... to the same spot   and watch the same sun as it shone   day became night   the stars endless candle light Now I'd ponder for hours   leave here smittin   relieved by the gift of life I often forgot how precious simplicity is as I rush through the day... But why can't we just lay back in silence wallow in what is... ponder like a little child of what may be out in the universe I lay here now,  alone Spell bound by what I see an array of colourful hues and natures generosity I wish you were here with me Smoke plumes heave as I exhale through these lungs This place of mine, timeless memories still live here I've come to remember all I have known and the simplicity of happiness still flourishes here just got to stop and wallow...
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May 9, 2013
May 9, 2013 at 1:24 AM UTC
Oh Simplicity
Oh simplicity how you reach out to my closed arms   in fear of how simple it may be to be happy   Without worldly posessions in grasps of their needy hands I've never felt so at peace as the trade winds sweep my hair on delicate sunsets of May   where red wine makes me lush but aware...   of the magnificence of this moment,  here,  now. The geese migrate, I seperate from the man made sounds of the city   although the connect the dots of street lights seem to guide me The shifting landscape   the shifted skew of my life   five years ago I wouldn't have guessed this far The time is so simple, slow-moving, sweet    I can almost feel the heart beat of excitement   or the beat within my youthful feet. The railroad still gleams at dusk   as does the lake shine   as does the hidden blackbirds and blossoms of springtime. I now spend here alone as I did when I was young   troubled, I would run.... to the same spot   and watch the same sun as it shone   day became night   the stars endless candle light Now I'd ponder for hours   leave here smittin   relieved by the gift of life I often forgot how precious simplicity is as I rush through the day... But why can't we just lay back in silence wallow in what is... ponder like a little child of what may be out in the universe I lay here now,  alone Spell bound by what I see an array of colourful hues and natures generosity I wish you were here with me Smoke plumes heave as I exhale through these lungs This place of mine, timeless memories still live here I've come to remember all I have known and the simplicity of happiness still flourishes here just got to stop and wallow...
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39
I Among twenty snowy mountains, The only moving thing Was the eye of the blackbird. II I was of three minds, Like a tree In which there are three blackbirds. III The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. It was a small part of the pantomime. IV A man and a woman Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird Are one. V I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling Or just after. VI Icicles filled the long window With barbaric glass. The shadow of the blackbird Crossed it, to and fro. The mood Traced in the shadow An indecipherable cause. VII O thin men of Haddam, Why do you imagine golden birds? Do you not see how the blackbird Walks around the feet Of the women about you? VIII I know noble accents And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is involved In what I know. IX When the blackbird flew out of sight, It marked the edge Of one of many circles. X At the sight of blackbirds Flying in a green light, Even the bawds of euphony Would cry out sharply. XI He rode over Connecticut In a glass coach. Once, a fear pierced him, In that he mistook The shadow of his equipage For blackbirds. XII The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying. XIII It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. The blackbird sat In the cedar-limbs. - Wallace Stevens (not me)
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May 2, 2015
May 2, 2015 at 11:04 PM UTC
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird - by Wallace Stevens
The wild blackberry plume bursts, effervescent under briar and brambles, brilliant indigo and magenta prior. We picked the posy and sweet fruits which scalloped along the ditch until our baskets were full and rich. The bronzey leaves quiver gently but do not fall however thick thorns plenty tear our long skirts and scratch our pasty legs. Stained with dirt And blood and mud We skip home through thyme. Through our childhood as The blackbirds caw.
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Apr 17, 2014
Apr 17, 2014 at 5:38 PM UTC
September
Imaginary blackbirds flitting to and fro In my mind, the only place for my made up blackbirds to go. Imaginary blackbird wings flutt’ring in my brain Tell me vivid dream, why dost thou choose a blackbird here to feign?
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Dec 5, 2011
Dec 5, 2011 at 4:24 AM UTC
Blackbird
CRIMSON Colors explode As the sumac stands sentinel over the ebbing rays of the sun Shepherding away Niibin to make room for Dagwaagin Standing, alone, in a sea of green Sumac heralds the changing season And like an artistic wild fire Is the first in what will become a palette of chromatic vibrancy Sensing the subtle change Mother deer, her two fawns and yearling Meandering through the sumac grove Make haste of the fading green buffet Mother Bear and her cubs, now a year stronger and wiser Gorge on honey and berries as they ready for their winter's sleep Red-Winged Blackbirds, Robins and Sandhill Cranes congregate en masse Hummingbird drinks the final drops of nectar In anticipation of their journey south In advance...of the returning white Biboon blanket The clock of Mother Earth is precise And the natural world follows her timely rhythms As southerly and westerly winds shift to the north Eagle soars high above...the yet unfrozen river Vivid foliage slowly falls to the forest floor Creating an intricate insulating tapestry for those below In the meadow, swaying in the wind, stands a solitary Daisy It's single yellow petal defying the departure of longer days Harvest moon shimmers through bare branches Dancing, tapping in rhythmic fashion, upon a quiet window Stirring Misigami from her reverie Outside her window, a lone black figure, a Lobo, like her Acknowledges her presence, blurring the lines of consciousness Signifying that dreams do come true And that through the change of seasons We grow We become stronger Wiser And are given the true gift...of forever being... ...Hopeful (c) 2013 Shawn White Eagle
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Sep 14, 2013
Sep 14, 2013 at 6:31 PM UTC
Dagwaagin (Autumn)
CRIMSON Colors explode As the sumac stands sentinel over the ebbing rays of the sun Shepherding away Niibin to make room for Dagwaagin Standing, alone, in a sea of green Sumac heralds the changing season And like an artistic wild fire Is the first in what will become a palette of chromatic vibrancy Sensing the subtle change Mother deer, her two fawns and yearling Meandering through the sumac grove Make haste of the fading green buffet Mother Bear and her cubs, now a year stronger and wiser Gorge on honey and berries as they ready for their winter's sleep Red-Winged Blackbirds, Robins and Sandhill Cranes congregate en masse Hummingbird drinks the final drops of nectar In anticipation of their journey south In advance...of the returning white Biboon blanket The clock of Mother Earth is precise And the natural world follows her timely rhythms As southerly and westerly winds shift to the north Eagle soars high above...the yet unfrozen river Vivid foliage slowly falls to the forest floor Creating an intricate insulating tapestry for those below In the meadow, swaying in the wind, stands a solitary Daisy It's single yellow petal defying the departure of longer days Harvest moon shimmers through bare branches Dancing, tapping in rhythmic fashion, upon a quiet window Stirring Misigami from her reverie Outside her window, a lone black figure, a Lobo, like her Acknowledges her presence, blurring the lines of consciousness Signifying that dreams do come true And that through the change of seasons We grow We become stronger Wiser And are given the true gift...of forever being... ...Hopeful (c) 2013 Shawn White Eagle
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39
Crow cackle! Crow cackle! …cackling crow! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? What does he do? And what does he hear? What does he see? Why do birds fear? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? The scarecrow sees bunnies, the scarecrow sees squirrels, The scarecrow sees shenanigans of little boys and girls. The scarecrow sees nothing because he doesn’t have real eyes. The scarecrow’s just hay, in a disguise! The bunnies will stop put to him one eye, they cannot seem to figure out, if he’s dead or alive? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? And the chickadee and the finches and the wrens and the sparrow, all want to rest on him but find themselves harrowed, for his job is to be frightening, fearsome and scary, …and blackbirds, ravens, crows here-ever are nary. Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? You’ll find him quietly scouting the good farmer’s fields, If you could speak to him or hear from him, what could he reveal? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Eating your corn, tormenting fields that you’ve sown, In the evenings or the mornings he’ll always be alone. Squawking and screaming their terrible dread! Crying at you, calling to you and filling your head, Always complaining and shouting at your ear. That field and its corn, is what they hold dear. Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? Protecting the corn fields, forever in the throes, Crow cackle! Crow cackle! …cackling crow! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know?
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Dec 22, 2016
Dec 22, 2016 at 7:13 PM UTC
Song of the Scarecrow
Crow cackle! Crow cackle! …cackling crow! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? What does he do? And what does he hear? What does he see? Why do birds fear? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? The scarecrow sees bunnies, the scarecrow sees squirrels, The scarecrow sees shenanigans of little boys and girls. The scarecrow sees nothing because he doesn’t have real eyes. The scarecrow’s just hay, in a disguise! The bunnies will stop put to him one eye, they cannot seem to figure out, if he’s dead or alive? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? And the chickadee and the finches and the wrens and the sparrow, all want to rest on him but find themselves harrowed, for his job is to be frightening, fearsome and scary, …and blackbirds, ravens, crows here-ever are nary. Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? You’ll find him quietly scouting the good farmer’s fields, If you could speak to him or hear from him, what could he reveal? Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Eating your corn, tormenting fields that you’ve sown, In the evenings or the mornings he’ll always be alone. Squawking and screaming their terrible dread! Crying at you, calling to you and filling your head, Always complaining and shouting at your ear. That field and its corn, is what they hold dear. Crow cackle! Crow cackle! Cackling crows! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know? Protecting the corn fields, forever in the throes, Crow cackle! Crow cackle! …cackling crow! Who is this scarecrow and what does he know?
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43
They used to ****** people that look like I do They do ****** people that look like I do They've taken away my freedom and put my mind in a cage No use to fight the bloodshot eyes Stained from the tears I cry Our cries for justice and equality they are trying to hide behind bars because they know that nobody dares to read between the lines of white lies They are trying to silence us Keeping an entire race from the ability to arise When blackbirds die, why can't we ever hear their screams? Maybe that's why they never hear our screams, For black lives to actually matter Injustice has grabbed us by the hand with a grip that we can barely withstand We cannot break free from what our skin defines us as They say be afraid, I'm just another face in the crowd of a picture of silenced serenity Because dark skin is really just a picture of crowded statistics and percentages We stay in the shade because that's the only place we seem to fit in Maybe that's why we seem to be walking in the dark like zombies Killed by the sweetness of black suicide , genocide I'm tired of trying to put my sorrows aside Our children love to play in the rain Dark hearts Dark souls Dark minds Seem to come along with having dark skin The rain finally gives it a companion Our little boys can finally find a release Cry the tears they always held back Because they were taught that real men don’t cry But the rain Protects him from criticism He asks “If I cry alone, Will heaven still accept me?” Let us pray ‘Our father who hide in shadows Humble be thy name Thy love will never come Thy affection is solely done
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May 29, 2017
May 29, 2017 at 2:51 PM UTC
They ****** people that look like I do
They used to ****** people that look like I do They do ****** people that look like I do They've taken away my freedom and put my mind in a cage No use to fight the bloodshot eyes Stained from the tears I cry Our cries for justice and equality they are trying to hide behind bars because they know that nobody dares to read between the lines of white lies They are trying to silence us Keeping an entire race from the ability to arise When blackbirds die, why can't we ever hear their screams? Maybe that's why they never hear our screams, For black lives to actually matter Injustice has grabbed us by the hand with a grip that we can barely withstand We cannot break free from what our skin defines us as They say be afraid, I'm just another face in the crowd of a picture of silenced serenity Because dark skin is really just a picture of crowded statistics and percentages We stay in the shade because that's the only place we seem to fit in Maybe that's why we seem to be walking in the dark like zombies Killed by the sweetness of black suicide , genocide I'm tired of trying to put my sorrows aside Our children love to play in the rain Dark hearts Dark souls Dark minds Seem to come along with having dark skin The rain finally gives it a companion Our little boys can finally find a release Cry the tears they always held back Because they were taught that real men don’t cry But the rain Protects him from criticism He asks “If I cry alone, Will heaven still accept me?” Let us pray ‘Our father who hide in shadows Humble be thy name Thy love will never come Thy affection is solely done
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40
Farewell to the bushy clump close to the river And the flags where the butter-bump hides in forever; Farewell to the weedy nook, hemmed in by waters; Farewell to the miller’s brook and his three bonny daughters; Farewell to them all while in prison I lie— In the prison a thrall sees naught but the sky. Shut out are the green fields and birds in the bushes; In the prison yard nothing builds, blackbirds or thrushes. Farewell to the old mill and dash of waters, To the miller and, dearer still, to his three bonny daughters. In the nook, the larger burdock grows near the green willow; In the flood, round the moor-cock dashes under the billow; To the old mill farewell, to the lock, pens, and waters, To the miller himsel’, and his three bonny daughters.
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2.9k
Farewell
*First light in the Hudson Valley Arbor Day of April, 1970.* Adrenaline coursed through our young bodies, our hearts on fire with purpose. As we rode our bikes, walked, or jogged miles to our rural high school, red-winged blackbirds called out from the misty swamps. Beautiful but invading, acres of purple loosestrife were rapidly taking over their wetland habitats. Harbingers of the forests, blue jays issued warning cries from deep in the woods, where blights were killing our trees with increasing frequency. Three of us rode together, cycling in relative silence, until we came to a meadow selected for our early breakfast picnic. We feasted on special fruits and cheeses, hungrily stuffing in rare treats. One friend began to send iridescent soap bubbles into the chilly air. Up they rose, up over the soft, puffy cloud of her reddish curls, and into the dawning sun. One bubble landed, unbroken, in the cold, dewy grass. We stared at it, somehow understanding that here was a delicate metaphor for our own fragile planet. Approaching our school now, we breathed deeply the fragrance of apple blossoms from commercial orchards all around us. The spraying of pesticides had yet to be banned. We were sleepy in our classes that morning; most of our teachers understanding that we stood now for something worthwhile, that we believed in, and they smiled with kindness, some even with approval. Our principal agreed to an awareness-raising slide show designed for our fellow students, teachers and parents. An intelligent man, he was admirably tolerant of the wave of changes that our generation brought with us. Smoke stacks, polluted water, and dying wildlife flashed onto a screen in the darkened auditorium, accompanied by the vivid symphonic power of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'- a score so revolutionary that a riot broke out at its premier, in May of 1913. We had no idea then how much worse things would become. All these years later, we each do our part, blessing the efforts of our children and their children, hoping fervently that we are not too late.
0
Apr 22, 2016
Apr 22, 2016 at 2:37 PM UTC
Earth Day, 1970
*First light in the Hudson Valley Arbor Day of April, 1970.* Adrenaline coursed through our young bodies, our hearts on fire with purpose. As we rode our bikes, walked, or jogged miles to our rural high school, red-winged blackbirds called out from the misty swamps. Beautiful but invading, acres of purple loosestrife were rapidly taking over their wetland habitats. Harbingers of the forests, blue jays issued warning cries from deep in the woods, where blights were killing our trees with increasing frequency. Three of us rode together, cycling in relative silence, until we came to a meadow selected for our early breakfast picnic. We feasted on special fruits and cheeses, hungrily stuffing in rare treats. One friend began to send iridescent soap bubbles into the chilly air. Up they rose, up over the soft, puffy cloud of her reddish curls, and into the dawning sun. One bubble landed, unbroken, in the cold, dewy grass. We stared at it, somehow understanding that here was a delicate metaphor for our own fragile planet. Approaching our school now, we breathed deeply the fragrance of apple blossoms from commercial orchards all around us. The spraying of pesticides had yet to be banned. We were sleepy in our classes that morning; most of our teachers understanding that we stood now for something worthwhile, that we believed in, and they smiled with kindness, some even with approval. Our principal agreed to an awareness-raising slide show designed for our fellow students, teachers and parents. An intelligent man, he was admirably tolerant of the wave of changes that our generation brought with us. Smoke stacks, polluted water, and dying wildlife flashed onto a screen in the darkened auditorium, accompanied by the vivid symphonic power of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring'- a score so revolutionary that a riot broke out at its premier, in May of 1913. We had no idea then how much worse things would become. All these years later, we each do our part, blessing the efforts of our children and their children, hoping fervently that we are not too late.
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45
Forsythias flower now, A shock of yellow petals Matching my Daffodils. Pure yellow, Brighter than the sun. Galaxies of petal-stars Hanging from spiral arms. As numerous as a shoal of fish, Or flock of birds. Nature stuns us with its numbers. Winter hangs on With chilling grip. But blossoms like these hold promise Of warmer days. My crocuses were first: Defiant spears thrusting into the frosty air. And now the second wave is here: Flower after flower, Bird after bird: Robins and Blue **** Blackbirds and Sparrows. Pesky gnats are out As everything awakes From hibernation. Yes Spring is here, Showing us once more The sheer resilience of Life. Paul Butters
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Apr 5, 2015
Apr 5, 2015 at 3:11 PM UTC
Forsythias
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes, Flow gently, I’ll sing thee a song in thy praise; My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream. Thou stock-dove, whose echo resounds thro’ the glen, Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den, Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear, I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair. How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills, Far mark’d with the courses of clear winding rills; There daily I wander as noon rises high, My flocks and my Mary’s sweet cot in my eye. How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below, Where wild in the woodlands the primroses blow; There oft, as mild Ev’ning sweeps over the lea, The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me. Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides, And winds by the cot where my Mary resides, How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave, As gathering sweet flowrets she stems thy clear wave. Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes, Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays; My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
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2.8k
Afton Water
The silver Birch trees flaunt Their glitz as I  Stroll through  Deep pearl  And sand Pebbles Gorgeous green Mansions swirl Around and Blackbirds pick Seeds from  The posy bunches And sparkled Grass. I pass a  Pink butterfly house  With large Daisy  Heads protruding from The diamond fencing. The next house, a rather Pretentious 'Cordillera', Sounds like a disease. A farm gate shields  4 by 4s and I'm  Now passing the weird House with the crocodile And gorilla and  Coloured Cow  And dog statues. Coming to the End of the lane Of silver I pass 'Lane end' Cottage with its viney Stature and freshly  Manicured front lawn.  High cube hedges forming  A pathway to the porch. In The final  Mansion if Nosy passers Have a peek you Can see a  Swimming pool, Fluffy Towels draped over The Silver pool chairs. Flitting to  The end of the  Dappled birches, Approaches A wide country green Covered in bunting Bathed in buttercups.
0
May 24, 2014
May 24, 2014 at 11:54 AM UTC
My walk
The Lung. The broken bone branches hang heavy off knuckled tree. As cold and uninviting as wrapped meat in cellophane prison cells and those sweating milk bottles left on doorsteps. Women cry with the blackbirds as day breaks, rousing their reluctant nests. As the shadows trawl in from chicken farms and slaughterhouses, across the squalid estates and past a debt collectors party. A ***** drinks his soot like coffee and waits for another years tide to retreat. Holding pith less ambitions and unmentionable qualifications, stewardess pass, uniformed thoughts and averting faces.. The rusty playgrounds sink into the fermenting wood chips, and a plastic bag runs through the scene; only to commit suicide in the oil ribbon canal. The chemical clouds thicken into a duvet of sky whilst arrows of a natural sun run home with tears of fear on their hot faces. Down here the street lights flicker, and the patched uniforms drape off children sick with the flu that hit the school like a plague. Herding like cattle into the classrooms, to learn about the natural world that is most unearthly to there reason. Lunch bells ring from factories and the sky has drained to a sick -off white. The chip shop sells butties with no sauce nor bun, which machine like men guzzle and slurp. The car parks lay stagnant in the distance and pigeons too fat to fly lay droppings on the bronze statue of a crying hero. As the roaring stops from the factories and high visibility coats are hung, the sky bruises and the men fill the pubs, until wives with children hung on washing lines drag there sweat soaked frames to the table, only to indulge them in a row. Night creeps in, bringing with it the hooded figures that flutter along the streets. Music plays from a vacant building and seems to brighten the night. A silhouette is seen standing on the edge, watching the busses bellow run like migrating snails, filled with the elderly and too young. Cigarettes infest the streets creating a carpet of ash and litter. The city survives, remaining grey, never blinking, never heard.
0
Sep 20, 2012
Sep 20, 2012 at 6:20 AM UTC
THE LUNG
The Lung. The broken bone branches hang heavy off knuckled tree. As cold and uninviting as wrapped meat in cellophane prison cells and those sweating milk bottles left on doorsteps. Women cry with the blackbirds as day breaks, rousing their reluctant nests. As the shadows trawl in from chicken farms and slaughterhouses, across the squalid estates and past a debt collectors party. A ***** drinks his soot like coffee and waits for another years tide to retreat. Holding pith less ambitions and unmentionable qualifications, stewardess pass, uniformed thoughts and averting faces.. The rusty playgrounds sink into the fermenting wood chips, and a plastic bag runs through the scene; only to commit suicide in the oil ribbon canal. The chemical clouds thicken into a duvet of sky whilst arrows of a natural sun run home with tears of fear on their hot faces. Down here the street lights flicker, and the patched uniforms drape off children sick with the flu that hit the school like a plague. Herding like cattle into the classrooms, to learn about the natural world that is most unearthly to there reason. Lunch bells ring from factories and the sky has drained to a sick -off white. The chip shop sells butties with no sauce nor bun, which machine like men guzzle and slurp. The car parks lay stagnant in the distance and pigeons too fat to fly lay droppings on the bronze statue of a crying hero. As the roaring stops from the factories and high visibility coats are hung, the sky bruises and the men fill the pubs, until wives with children hung on washing lines drag there sweat soaked frames to the table, only to indulge them in a row. Night creeps in, bringing with it the hooded figures that flutter along the streets. Music plays from a vacant building and seems to brighten the night. A silhouette is seen standing on the edge, watching the busses bellow run like migrating snails, filled with the elderly and too young. Cigarettes infest the streets creating a carpet of ash and litter. The city survives, remaining grey, never blinking, never heard.
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11
oh lighthouse light the dawn that bring these blackbirds here to mourn black wings move the ocean tides oh lighthouse light the dawn we cried
0
Aug 31, 2018
Aug 31, 2018 at 3:17 PM UTC
Lighthouse Light The Dawn
Among the taller wood with ivy hung, The old fox plays and dances round her young. She snuffs and barks if any passes by And swings her tail and turns prepared to fly. The horseman hurries by, she bolts to see, And turns agen, from danger never free. If any stands she runs among the poles And barks and snaps and drive them in the holes. The shepherd sees them and the boy goes by And gets a stick and progs the hole to try. They get all still and lie in safety sure, And out again when everything’s secure, And start and snap at blackbirds bouncing by To fight and catch the great white butterfly.
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2.4k
The *****