Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Bird Brain

When you're raised
With the smell of leather case
Snap of latch, and cold, hard metal
Of binoculars
Dog-eared bird books
As company in the back seat
Wonder surrounding all things avian
Is not questioned, it's like breathing

A reflex
To check a flash of feather
Pause and peer
Through light and leaves
Find that bird shape
Check markings and
Mentally file for
Later identification

Though
Most are known
Deposited during decades
Of watching parents point
And classify

Blue jay, Scrub jay, Stellar's jay
Mockingbird, Bushtit,
Yellow rumped warbler,
Tennessee warbler,
Red bellied woodpecker,
Downy Woodpecker,
Red tailed, Red shouldered,
Or Cooper's Hawks

My feet automatically stop
To watch any flock
Fly overhead
Shifting from shadow
To white or color

It's a love forever
Nested in my heart

This is written for the prompt at Poetic Bloomings  poeticbloomings.com  to write about a bird--With parents as birders, that is near impossible.  They are all wonderful to me and every time I see one, it makes my heart lift. Also shared for OLN at dversepoets.com, I'm a bit early, but the early bird....:-)



20 comments:

  1. it is really cool how some know their birds...i know a few by their song...the familiar ones by where i grew up...nested in your heart...nice play there too...smiles.

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    1. Hi Brian! It is fun to know them-thought that everyone did until 8th grade when I pointed out a bird to a friend and they asked me how I knew that:-)

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  2. I love this poem on birds ... beautiful !!!

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    1. Hi Speck! I loved your Hindi poem as well, lovely :-)

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  3. Sara, you were so lucky to have parents who were birders and who imparted the love and knowledge to you! And I hope you pass it down as well...as this kind of passed down love of something I think is probably the most intense of all. A beautifully expressed poem.

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    1. Hi Mary!! Thank you so much! Yes, it's passed down to my kids, again they kinda can't help learning it, when I'm automatically stopping and pointing the birds out to them:-)

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  4. It's a love forever
    Nested in my heart....beautiful. I love this, Sara.

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    1. Hi Ayala!! Thank you so much, I really loved your love poem as well :-)

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  5. Oh yes! Love this, Sara! And the last two lines:

    "It's a love forever
    Nested in my heart"

    Perfect! :-)

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    1. Hi Pam!! Thank you! I'm thinking you can relate since your poem was about a titmouse, not too many people know that bird:-)

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  6. so cool that your parents passed down the love of birds to you..i find them fascinating and i wish i knew more by name.. yeah i can imagine that this is a love, nested (love the word here..fits so perfectly) in your heart..

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    1. Hi Claudia! It's enough to just love them :-) Thank you for the lovely compliment

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  7. Love your love of birds and the aspect of your parents passing this on. Recently set up a feeding station in our garden and amazed at the visitors but wish i had your knowledge of who the visitors are :-)

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    1. Hi ND!! Really enjoying your poetry. My parents were teachers too, and so I can't help leaving this link for you to identify your birds
      http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/

      Enjoy!!

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    2. Thanks for that link. Brilliant :-)

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  8. Fascinating. I have never known birdwatchers, yet alone think of growing up with them. Thanx for the delightful snapshot.

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    1. Hi Sabio!! What a wonderful comment, I've always wanted to be fascinating :-) Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  9. I would love to see these birds....but there's any where I am in the city ~

    Thanks for sharing this nature's delight ~

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  10. What a fun hobby and family memory-making time!

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Your words are wonderful! Thanks for popping in--I'll be over in a snap!