Redwing
(in memory of PT)
and someone found you
there on the side of the hill
lying in the dry grass
no one heard the sound
of your body
against the ground
or saw the clouds
for a moment
move the wrong way
but the sun rises
every day, every day
I saw it just this morning
in the east
buttering the snowy hillside
when spring returns
the blackbird will sing
its reedy tune
in the rushes by the river
and I will think again
of you
Photo found at www.in.gov
and someone found you
there on the side of the hill
lying in the dry grass
no one heard the sound
of your body
against the ground
or saw the clouds
for a moment
move the wrong way
but the sun rises
every day, every day
I saw it just this morning
in the east
buttering the snowy hillside
when spring returns
the blackbird will sing
its reedy tune
in the rushes by the river
and I will think again
of you
Photo found at www.in.gov
posted by MB at 8:02 AM
19 Comments:
Words sewn together into a lovely and haunting fabric. Glad to have stopped by.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sorry, MB, the previous one was me, tried to edit and couldn't.
What a beautiful, elegaic poem this is. Thank you for sharing the memory with us. And the photo complements it perfectly.
And yes, on the same wavelength ...
This poem scares me a little, something about dying alone out there, though we all die alone. And yet it is the great round of life and death. Grief runs through it like a diurge, like the season that must winter before spring can come...
I read your comment to mine in Little Prayer. This, too, reminds me of the perpetual cycle of death and life.
Beautiful imagery of the clouds moving the wrong way, the sun buttering the hillside, and a small soul forgotten in his/her death, and remembered again by one who was paying attention.
Very nice!!!
"...when spring returns
the blackbird will sing
its reedy tune
in the rushes by the river"
just lovely!
I want a book of your poetry!
A beautiful poem, MB. Love the clouds, and buttering hillside imagery. We've been hearing the redwing blackbird's reedy tune lately. Now it will sound just a bit different to my ears.
Very haunting.
Beautiful as always, MB. I love the connection with the "you" and spring, the image of renewal of life and thoughts.
this reminded me of a loved one that I lost, a couple of years ago.
after reading this, I was so touched, I almost felt like crying.
the thoughts in your words are very moving, well done.
Cette photo est incroyable !
Quelle chance qu'en plus , l'oiseau soit perché sur la tige du typha !
I liked this one a lot, especially, "...the sound of your body against the ground..."
A fine picture, as well.
Has the feel of an old folk tune -- tragedy refracted through a deep wash of time, all the disbelief and distress worn away, and only the universal sadness left. A very beautiful poem. Thanks, MB.
Thank you for being here with me.
I've been to this poem several times, liking it from the start and not knowing why -- just enjoying the sounds and verbal pictures. Your readers' comments have helped me hear the understated grief in it. I still think it's one of your best, and now I understand it too.
Richard, thank you for telling me this. I tend to be a poor judge of which poems people will respond to! All I can do is write them and put them out there. When I wrote this, I feared it might be too personal, too obscure. But apparently there is something there that you all are responding to. Yes, this an expression of grief, but also love and faith and beauty... I'm pleased that you enjoy it.
I love the idea of clouds buttering the hillside, It holds well the thought that life goes on beside such tragedies
Thanks, Sue.
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