Baby

[pjthompson]

Hot off the presses, and prompted (as many things are) by a conversation with asakiyume and with bogwitch64.

Baby

What dreams does the captive bird know?
Is it of flying in vast, swooping clouds
of bird bodies, or soaring solo through forests,
playing the leaves like xylophone keys,
singing along with the notes?

Does she know she is a bird, or does
captivity define her as human-not-human?
Does she squander her days playing
with the baubles provided by her keepers,
or do they bring her real joy, a settled peace?

Or a peace with a ribbon of black threaded
through the chattering whiteness of her hours,
a ribbon that ruffles with the slightest breeze,
pulling, tugging, longing to burst all the doors,
break through the windows, touch the blue-grey sky,
and once and for all sail away on the wind?

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Comments

[bogwitch64.livejournal.com]

(http://www.tilazone.com/clipart/glitter.asp)

Now if only I could remember the conversation... ;)

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

The one regarding the sweet murmuration.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is a beautiful poem, but I hope she is happy and not yearning for the murmuration. Maybe when she sleeps she joins them in dreams, and that can be enough....

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

I think she's generally a pretty happy little bird, what with "laptime" with Mom and other niceties. :-D

And like all my poems, this isn't just about Baby...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

*nods*

... I was getting there. See the comment I left back on the other entry...

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

*Love*

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :-)

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Beautiful.

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[geniusofevil.livejournal.com]

I love captive bird poems!

Hey, speaking of that, have you read Mechanique by Valentine?
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanique-A-Tale-Circus-Tresaulti/dp/1607012537/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337193282&sr=1-1

I thought it was so interesting, but I don't know anyone else who would appreciate it. If you want, I can loan it to you on the kindle.

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

And that book does sound interesting. I've put it on my wish list. I don't do Kindle--that's Mom's gizmo--and I don't borrow books from people anymore because my TBR is shamefully, scandalously large and I read so goddamned slow these days. But I do like getting book recommends so I can add them to the wish list. :-)

[geniusofevil.livejournal.com]

I would just like to point out that I did not have a TBR pile until I friended you all those years ago. I blame you.

[pjthompson.livejournal.com]

Ha! I am a living book contagion. Go check out your last publishing post, btw.