A Sparrow Falls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Another recently revised poem today, the original of which was written 20+ years ago; I have made significant changes.
Until the coronavirus pandemic and the various safety precautions generated by various lockdowns, I hadn’t realised how much I take some of the ordinary, everyday pleasures of life for granted; one of these is birdsong.
During dark, lonely days alone in my studio flat in London, I would listen to the uplifting, inspirational sounds made by birds nearby and not only feel less alone, but also better able to focus on nurturing a positive-thinking mindset rather than succumb to what had been but a growing sense of negativity and despair...
Never
again will I take our feathered friends for granted or the simple but effective
magic they weave, whether in the life-music they may make or always being there for us.
A SPARROW FALLS
World,
falling apart;
dreary,
all but empty gardens
of
the heart;
senses,
playing tricks;
everyone,
a victim, few of us
suspecting
Walking
out one day,
aware
of little or nothing but
in
shades of grey;
bonding
with a sparrow
in
a gutter, its wings barely able
to
flutter...
Anxious
hands reaching
down
to hold, if small comfort,
bird
already cold,
each
teary eye looking
death
in the face, like a child’s
on
a safehouse
Suddenly,
ears pricking up
at
sounds familiar on overhead
telegraph
wires;
songbirds,
keen to re-engage
our
personal space with life-music
of
life-music
As
one, the tiny birds fly off,
once
having fed on seeds tossed
by
human hearts
eager to thank them again
for returning the mind-body-spirit
to its safehouse
Copyright
R. N. Taber, 2002; rev. 2021
[Note:
An earlier version of this poem appears in my collection First Person
Plural, Assembly Books, 2002; rev. 2021]
Labels: birdsong, coronavirus, despair, global consciousness, hope, human nature, human spirit, lifeforces, nature, pandemic, personal space, poetry, positive thinking, posthumous consciousness, self-awareness
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