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Jonathan Witte Jan 2017
I
Among ten thousand trees,
the transformation begins
with the blink of a snowbird.

II
Snowbirds live.
Snowbirds die.
Wing tips span
the seam between
egg and bone.

III
I baked my snowbird
in a pie; the oven wanted
something beautiful to eat.

IV
A nest is a clever home.
At night, house windows
shine like yellow puzzles
for the snowbird to solve.

V
I steal the notes
of the snowbird’s song,
shackle myself to the silence
that blooms between the notes.

VI
Abandoned women
in thrift store robes,
abandoned houses
warmed by bedroom fires—
the snowbird understands.

VII
The mouth of a snowbird
is small but mellifluous.

VIII
Children with dusty fingers
color sidewalks with chalk.
Snowbirds alight there and dip
their wings into an apocalyptic sun.

IX
When the snowbird departs,
the branches of the juniper
languish like bitter crescents of lime,
ice cubes melting in a glass of gin.

X
To decipher snowy syntax,
etch lines on a sheet of ice;
get on all fours and trace
snowbird tracks in snow.

XI
Rain is turning to sleet.
The snowbird is awake.

XII
She crosses her legs
on the velvet settee,
exhaling cigarette smoke
in rings across the room.
The ashtray is a crystal grave
of severed snowbird beaks.

XIII
It was winter all afternoon. Across the city,
chimneys are spilling snow into the sky.
A snowbird shivers in the fireplace.
I close my eyes and gather kindling.
With apologies to Wallace Stevens.
Did you ever hear about ******* Lil?
She lived in ******* town on ******* hill,
She had a ******* dog and a ******* cat,
They fought all night with a ******* rat.

She had ******* hair on her ******* head.
She had a ******* dress that was poppy red:
She wore a snowbird hat and sleigh-riding clothes,
On her coat she wore a crimson, ******* rose.

Big gold chariots on the Milky Way,
Snakes and elephants silver and gray.
Oh the ******* blues they make me sad,
Oh the ******* blues make me feel bad.

Lil went to a snow party one cold night,
And the way she sniffed was sure a fright.
There was Hophead Mag with ***** Slim,
Kankakee Liz and Yen Shee Jim.

There was Morphine Sue and the Poppy Face Kid,
Climbed up snow ladders and down they skid;
There was the Stepladder Kit, a good six feet,
And the Sleigh-riding Sister who were hard to beat.

Along in the morning about half past three
They were all lit up like a Christmas tree;
Lil got home and started for bed,
Took another sniff and it knocked her dead.

They laid her out in her ******* clothes:
She wore a snowbird hat with a crimson rose;
On her headstone you’ll find this refrain:
She died as she lived, sniffing *******
Snowbird in the snow
Two unique creations

Part 1

White  owl white and pure
Sits and watches .....
falling snow. Quietly.
Snowflakes created uniquely
White, light and heavenly.
Falling down in winter frequently
It was then.....
Snowowl was born silently

Beautifully unique,
don’t know what to say.....
Both Precious creations
Natures art all the way

Part2

Spread your wings
white bird and fly
high into the night and thrive
fly up while snowflakes are  falling down , falling down, falling down!
sky’s own created diamonds .

Majestic bird of wonder
Created so divine
Wings like from  an angel
White as snow so fine

Part 3

When you look up into
night
and  watch skies  falling diamonds.
While Snowowl  flying winter high
You’ll see a precious painting,
on this  blue canvas called the sky
And God our holy painter .

Shell
🐚✨
Nature is like art, no is art!!!
These streets
are home to countless
rodents
emerging for a moment
to feed
or breed
or just to breathe the sun

One by one line up
for the chance to
make something
out of nothing

Who are they and
where do they go
while the city refuses to
sleep

Doors to endless lands
line the avenue
each its own portal to the
unimagined

A family of four
with the yapping mutt
or a lonely cat lady
whose entryway wreaks of *****,
a drug dealer
door slamming
every hour on the hour
or an empty snowbird's nest

On the surface
everyone pretends
they don't have a hole to
crawl back to
or walls that know
every night

But below the sewer grate
a world filled with
the stench
of what could have been a
good day

Many a barkeep can
shed some life
on these drunkards'
rat king
or at least a story of those who
made it out

Once or twice it'd be grand
to see the bottom of a martini glass
left with a sip or two
instead of the casually tipped
lipstick-clad cocktail,
drained of doubt and despair
until morning warms the
frozen dreams
of those retired to
a paradise unknown
New York City streets
i saw a little snowbird as lovely as can be
sat upon a mountain top looking down on me
he flew down my side sat upon my knee
he was very friendly a friendly chap was he

then he began to sing very loud and strong
such a lovely melody to his little song
he had big brown eyes his feathers oh so white
he filled my heart with joy and filled me with delight.

when he finished singing his lovely melody
snowbird flew away and waved goodbye to me
its something i will treasure in my memory
for ever in my heart he will always be
Johnny Vaccaro Jan 2017
Shifting through the snow
I don’t walk I fly
Passed the children
Passed the mothers
Passed the fathers
I’m not on their level
I don’t speak
I lay back and enjoy the ride
I let go and although I am flying my mind is not racing
I am fire
I am body and soul
Undetectable
On a mountain filled with white wallows
Marshmallows and trees that turn everything soft
I like soft things
I like flying
I don’t want to leave
I want to stay and lay here
In the clear and quiet atmosphere of the wilderness
Like Thoreau
Call me a dead poet
Call me a doctor
I only have one alter ego and it is a snowbird
Take me back to Utah
DuBray Jan 2018
Snowbird
Without words
Poetry unfurled

By wings
Flitting
From tree to tree

I observe
Snowbird
Without words
"Teej" Julie Teasdale  aka MasikaniCrocodile aka Crocodile of Happiness has taken her life after suffering from bipolar disorder. She was 27. She's home with Jesus now, God I miss her.

All her HP family are invited to the service Sunday night at 1897 Little Snowbird RD Robbinsville NC 28771. I would love to give and receive hugs from any of you who were touched by her poetry. Trust me, she was the most beautiful, kind, sincere, meek person you could ever know. She was my best friend since the day I was born and my heart is shredded on my knees crying Lord, Lord.
You can see pics and get some more of her writing at her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/teejs?fref=ts

-Robbie Teasdale
"Teej" Julie Teasdale  aka MasikaniCrocodile aka Crocodile of Happiness has taken her life after suffering from bipolar disorder. She was 27. She's home with Jesus now, God I miss her.

All her HP family are invited to the service Sunday night at 1897 Little Snowbird RD Robbinsville NC 28771. I would love to give and receive hugs from any of you who were touched by her poetry. Trust me, she was the most beautiful, kind, sincere, meek person you could ever know. She was my best friend since the day I was born and my heart is shredded on my knees crying Lord, Lord.
You can see pics and get some more of her writing at her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/teejs?fref=ts

-Robbie Teasdale
A Snowbird’s Trip

Through Powdering snow flakes and cold wind

Rushing forward ahead of Jack Frost

This was certainly a race of endurance

to reach our paradise…..To avoid becoming his victoms

Freedom of Jack Frost’s Curse was the cost.

Past overcome victims

The odds were stacked.

We busted through Jack Frost’s Icy Wall

As to escape to a brighter destination..a war..

The first wave.. We attacked.

Jack struck back with all of his icy might..

However, the Snow Bird was too cunning….

We were upon strong wing

And blurred out of sight.
Lust is toxic
sad and
hollow.

Love says
somebody else
throw the first stone.

I wonder what You're writing in the dust.
Carlo C Gomez Feb 2021
Pine needles in my head
Snowbird starts to fly
A want of apricity
Enters my blood stream
Like lukewarm sea water
Enters hiemal streams
I'm sprawled facedown
An angel or so
Below the snow
The taste of frost
Technically wintergreen
From your breathy kiss
Hinting at a return
To rays of affection
And the crush of limbs
this is the city
that my daddy built
inside of me
between my guts
where my heart should be.
what isn’t rusted
or burnt out
or tired
is barbed-wire and wary.

this is the city
that my daddy built
with his anger.
it’s set up high
on a hill of scissors and blood oranges
and blood oranges with scissors
inside of them,
red juice stains
in sticky pools and dirt.

this is the city that my daddy built
in our house.
in our home.
where the people are shadows,
speaking in whispers
tiptoeing behind closed doors
so as not to rouse the beast.

this is the city
that my daddy built
here we pay tithes in blood oranges
to humor his desires
warding off uncalled for bloodshed
like the time that I
finally stood up for myself
and he broke the kitchen table
with his fists.
it was an antique
that traveled with my great-grandmother
from Sweden,
now just another broken thing
in the landslide
of scissors
and blood oranges
and dirt.

this is the city
that my daddy built,
scarring my skeleton,
following me everywhere
like a spilled bottle of India ink
blacking out the finely drawn sun,
like past transgressions
follow the guilty,
like the golden touch of Midas,
turning everything into
a mountain of scissors and
blood oranges and dirt.

this is the city that
my daddy built,
making my concept of home
a depiction of ruins;
the vestiges of what
could have been
if we hadn’t lived
too close to his minefield,
before causing my mother
to take my sisters and leave
like a snowbird at the arrival of spring,
at last realizing that her spine
consisted of wings.

this is the city
that my daddy built.
this is the city that
scarred and weary,
shadows of skeletons of birds, we
will move on, leaving behind
brick by ***** brick
until it’s nothing but a memory
of a pile
of blood oranges
and scissors
and dirt.
Austin Bauer Sep 2016
You sure were in the moment
Monday when that opossum
Was laying on the garbage in
Your trash-day trash can, quite
An inconvenience when you're
Trying not to be late for work.

On Tuesday, you had a lot of
Questions for me when, on
Your commute, you saw that
Fawn lifeless on the side of the road.

Why is it that these moments
Make you present to me?
You come with doubting questions,
Ready to put me on trial
When every day I send you
Gifts of love even more
Real than the sting of death:

Did you notice the squirrel
Rushing back to her tree with
An apple the size of her head?
Could you see her there feeding
Her kits - born blind so they
Might learn to trust their maker?

Which reminds me, did you notice
The geese that flew over your head
While you were riding bicycles
With your wife? Were you listening
Carefully enough to translate their
Honking conversation? I remember
They were considering where they
Might stop to rest for the night.
After all, it is a long journey to their
Snowbird mansion - Hole number
Seven at Pinetree Country Club.

Are you present enough to notice
All the beauty, all the glory I've
Squeezed inside your every day life?
Open your eyes for a moment,
Unlock your ears and listen.
I promise you'll see the
Facets of who I really am.
b e mccomb Oct 2016
two men who i used
to know but who i
never knew knew each
other were sitting at
a window table as the
sky lightened to barely gray

both making a yearly pilgrimage
to the mountaintop stomping
grounds of when they were young
when they believed in revolutions

two ships momentarily run
a coffee ground on cold
october air and a well
buttered chance to catch up

"there's no replacement for family"
said the tall and pompous
actor with the demeanor of
a shark in a hawaiian shirt

"you can say that again"
replied the wiry bible
toting snowbird who used to
scramble around on roofs

somewhere through the
seven a.m. haze over my
conscious and the
florescent lampposts
the toaster popped up
two sesame bagels

("yes there is"
i wanted to sc
ream "maybe
nobody's fou
nd it yet but t
here has got t
o be some kind
of substitute to
people who w
ill only cause
you pain for
your entire l
ife longer th
an anyone e
lse you'll e
ver know")


let the doorbell
hurried goodbyes
of two rekindled
acquaintances
passing in the
morning fog
bring me back
to life

(nothing's real anyway
surrounded by how
alone i really am in this
big world small cafe)


let the rising smell
of espresso and the
bubbly hiss of 140
degree steamed milk
wake me up to something
i still can't put into words
Copyright 10/14/16 by B. E. McComb
Nat Lipstadt Aug 2020
~ per la bombardiera italiana di Vienna~

you want a poem of (a)side dishes, instead of a main,
you prefer a side vent, instead of a main event,
but always commence at the commencement ending,
another day begs for the first poem of the day (FPoTD)

the sky produces another hue, a whitish blue,
with violet shadings, majestic clouds slow moving,
heading north, Northwest by North(NWbN)
to New England, onto Toronto, then west to B.C.
but me won’t be there for that new course correction

sent some messengers your way, umpteen Canadian
snowbird geese, returning home, Florida too **** hot,
hurricanes not to their liking, quite the sight, brave old
man in dracula cape-flapping bathrobe, clapping and heehawing them intruders into the bay waters, off his land, their partying
in my no-noise motel against a law, not to mention their
empties and plentiful droppings, but I side vent digress

from where this Mariner’s tale began, but the mental alarm
signals seven bells, return to port, now a mess mate, inside,
delivering coffee in white china teacups to the Captainess,
who in time of war makes tremendous sacrifices, par example,
who due to the pandemic, graciously deigns, accepts paper(!)
napkins, a sign of the gravity of the times, no ironing!


god, I do not understand how you do it, vast eternal patience,
every way, every day, a new shade, you musta been an art major,
or very bored, either way, this goose chasing, cook, exterminator,
driver, poetry-writing no-maven son of a Canadian woman, is
your devotee, morning glory audience, who accepts your sky tapestry, your cloud interweaving laddering, with humble gratitude, a still life never stilled, my eyes, my tongue sings your praises like King David, and that other court-appointed Canadian psalmist^ who  understood, conversing with you is where all hallelujah poem songs main event must begin, fiddle middle, and perforce must conclude, that! the! main event

everything else just a side event, a side venting, a prayer-in waiting,
a get-in-line for another paradise, where poets play cards, smoke see-gars, checking their stockings for runs and new poem ideas, word worshipping the gifts of existence, a child’s ice cream dotted nose, a body’s curves, but I digress...he LoL’s to himself, wondering why his eyes are tearing...as usual, he is clueless, the last to know, but the first to weep because the winter is coming, yet again, a sky will be less frequent friendly, but the know-nothing-man will digress yet again, once more unto the breach...


2020
8:18am
Sat Sabbath Aug 29
white bellied junco
people wintering warm spots
traveling snowbirds
Dear Winter, you're leaving, and oh, how my heart hurts.
I panic as the balm of your dormancy
gives way to Spring's exuberant insistence on growth.
After Spring, Summer will saunter in
with her interminably long twilights and
loud cicada choirs.
Oh Winter, won't you transfix me again
with one of your powerful deep freezes ... or a silent snow shower ... or a glint of sun-kissed ice?
Cast once more your concealing blanket of snow and frost across the land ... blemishes be gone.
Indeed, as you fade away, I long for your return.
As you approach afresh, how my soul rejoices!
That first pure white winter flake of snow.
And then more, more, more … each one unique they say.
When you're around, my mind feels at peace
as I stroll down snow-covered streets and woody paths.
There's always a hint of magic mystery in the air,
secrets hanging amidst the ice-covered branches.
I marvel with a sense of wonder at what you'll reveal next:
a woodpecker working on a hollow tree,
a flash of cardinal red,
a twinkling ice droplet catching a sunbeam.
When you light up a lot of them, way up in the tree tops,
oh how they sparkle, an array of dazzling diamonds far finer than any man-made décor.
And what fun it is when you reveal the paw prints
of so many passers-by,
their curious patterns in the night and wee hours,
secret stories witnessed only by you.
Ah Winter, if I were a composer and the seasons a song,
I'd give spring and summer staccato quarters
to fall I'd give a half
but to you, Winter, a sustained whole.
If I were a snowbird, I'd follow you south ...
to a chilly Chilean climb or a frosty Australian hinterland.
But alas for now, my wings can't carry me that far.
And so I must wait patiently, intently, for your return,
watching for the signs, longing for the soothing forgiveness of your freezing temperatures,
the purifying baptism of that first arctic blast.
Though I may admire Spring's glory or bask in Summer's bright rays, rest assured they are passing fancies.
Even Fall, with his brilliant leaves and brisk breezes, is still a distant second to you.
These three are merely my constant companions until you return.
And so auf wiedersehen my dear Winter, my love.
I'll hold you in my memory until we are together again.
I started writing this poem on March 20, 2018, a comfortingly dreary first day of spring with a forecast for snow.
Weather is mild, last earth colors
are closing the eyes
returning back to dirt of Earth
From afar comes the sound of a lovely hymn
It comes on the wings of a white snowbird
Freezing cold wind is howling
embracing the skin
It’s time to prepare the logs for an open fire.
We hear the silence of the first snowflakes falling softly.
Orange to yellow lights stay on the whole day
Pine trees are wearing their white coats changing the view in a special warm way
creating this precious Christmas card.

It’s here
Winter time, silent and peaceful.
Let’s stay inside, on the couch under a warm blanket.
Let’s have hot chocolate milk
and roast some chestnuts.


Shell ✨🐚
Cozy time.
Lawrence Hall Apr 2021
Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com

                             “What’s Holding us Back!?”

                           A video clip from Natuashish

Two little children on a snowmobile
Which smokes and sputters, going nowhere
“What’s holding us back!?” is their merry squeal
Frozen-breath frosty in the springtime air

Two little children both ready for a ride
Realize they are held back by a third
But only for a moment (at least he tried!)
Three little children, each a happy snowbird

And off they go, following their own chosen track -
Dear little children, nothing will ever hold you back!


AnthonyGermain (@AnthonyGermain) / Twitter
A poem is itself.
Travis Green Aug 2022
Your dashing strapping smashingness
Tajes me into the delectably magnetic midnight
In the wickedly whirling waves
Of your slammingly ingratiating sensation
Your handsomeness incinerates my gayness
Makes me disarranged and crazy high
In the wildness of your virileness

So alive and hypnotized by
Your highly adrenalizing and mesmerizing paradise
You render my sensual feminine center speechless
When you present to me your magical moist machine
Swing it like an extraordinary slinky toy
Thick, velvety, and sumptuous
Enjoyable milk-chocolate hotness
Extra ****** and hypnotic
Your contagious, salacious, and cognac maple lips

Make me lust for your superabundant crunkalicious drugs
Make me a snowbird over your smoking, showstopping seductiveness
So turned on by your broad-ranging, game-changing invitingness
You stand facing my way, breathtaking nakedness
Mister beardalicious gripping pleasure treasure
Stroking your thickness with both hands
Motioning for me to take over
And without hesitation, I get down on my knees
And please your heavy edible popsicle
Embrace your titillating captivation
So inebriated in amorousness

I kiss your fresh, entrancing, and branch brown flesh
Luxuriate in your greatly flavorsome foundation
Direct my mouth around the slick tip
In my mind-blowingly primal nature
I take down your ultra thugness
Polish your ****, marvel at your remarkable sauce
Give you the highest level of delectation

Do whatever to satisfy your desires
Serve you my mouth and throat
Tell me how far you want me to go
Where do I begin and end
Can I stretch out the limits of time
Take you out of your mind for awhile
Lionize your vital force
Feel your big fat knapsack bounce on my tongue

Speak the scintillating and picturesque language of seduction
Let it stream across my supple salubrious skin
Let me enthrall your tallness
Kiss your blooming tattooed neck
Lick your silky shimmery ears
Give you all of my fieriness
Make your resplendent skin tingle

Be at the head of your flex
Caressing your strong, passionate, and relentless canvas
I open my mouth wide and take you in more
Feel your engorgement traverse down my throat
I take a gander into your tantalizing dark chocolate brandy eyes
Drown into your enchantingness
So unbelievably blitzed on your bangingly blazing hot bulge

Inch by inch, I drench your dreams
I swallow your mean-slinging grandness
Hear you moan hard as I delve deeper
Into your hypnotic homeland
Move to the wild and impassioned cadence
Of your warm and alluring manfulness

Taste your debonairness drifting into my system
So effectively prodigious and thrilling
So harmonious and state-of-the-art grandiosity
I **** you madly and faster
Feel you grasp my luscious lascivious briskets
Gorge on my torrid points
Push my head forward more into your allurement
Pour out effervescent love liquor
On my stunning plump lips
Travis Green May 2022
How can I be down
With this ardent macho Romeo
Lay down with him
On his bed
Our heads leaned back
On the headboard
Our legs and feet interlocked
Our hearts beating with passion

Sharing rapturously rare kisses
His hands slowly sliding
Up and down my warm, remarkable arms
My palms pressed against
His broad phenomenal chest
Look into his loving luminescent eyes
While he stares into my love-struck eyes

He has me so extremely high
A snowbird bowled over
By his mind-bendingly powerful dopeness
His smoke is major pressure
The way he enters into my shimmering dreams
He knocks me sideways
He has my heart melting
In every supremely lucid moment
Longing to climb into his inner world
And discover the essential elements of his love

He has me so sweet for his street heat
I want to be down with him
And spend my life by his side
Give him everything he desires
All of my love to show him
That I am enough for him

— The End —