Grackles at Dusk by auntietk
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Description
Grackles at Dusk
They're always somewhere
During the day
You'll see them
Here and there
Just one or two
At night
Who knows
It's dark
They're dark
They could be
Anywhere
But at dusk
That liminal hour
They gather
Flock after flock
All heading in the same direction
They're on their way to
Any busy corner
Social creatures
In search of a party
Happy hour is
Wherever there is an abundance
Of lines and signs
Every telephone wire
For blocks around
Supports grackles
Sitting shoulder
To shoulder to
Shoulder to shoulder
To shoulder
Singing down the sun
Ushering out the day
Welcoming the night
Every dusk
Is reason for celebration
Faithful as any
Congregation
They are never absent
At the appointed hour
Some people find them
Bothersome
In large groups
They are known as
An Annoyance of Grackles
Which should tell you
Something
Personally
I like their commitment
Tenacity
Dedication to ritual
Their nightly appearance
Is one of those things in life
That provides predictability
And a sense that
All is right with the world
.........................
The challenge topic a couple months ago was just "poetry," so I got to come up with whatever I wanted. :) This ode to grackles had been perking around in my brain for a while, and it was fun to finally finish it.
We don't have grackles in Washington, and I had never seen any until just a few years ago. Now, traveling around a lot and spending our winters in south Texas, I've become familiar with some of their habits. I like them because they're something new and different from what I'm used to, and because I was first introduced to them as an idea by Chip. He and I have been friends for a long time, and I have other friends of course, but he's the only one who has ever given me the idea of a specific bird. Without his prompting, I might never have cared.
........................
Artwork done in ArtRage, Photoshop, and from a couple of sourced photographs.
Comments (9)
Wolfenshire
Very cool poem. I have a soft spot for Grackles.
kgb224
Amazing writing Tara. God bless.
Faemike55
Fabulous image and very cool poem
durleybeachbum
Fab! So enjoyable! I love all the corvids, they seem so intelligent.
Mulltipass
Very COOL!!!!
irisinthespring
Fabulous Grackle dedication, we don't have these in Memphis, TN either and I saw these first when I moved to the Dallas, TX area 4 years ago and I agree these are a neat bird, with lots of personality...:)))
RodS
A wonderful poem and graphic, Tara! Haven't seen any grackles here, just those bloody starlings.....
dochtersions
A wonderful rhythm and rime, Tara. I love it.
anahata.c
This was the next image in-line for me (going sequentially), and I've taken entirely too long to comment on it! I'm very slow with literary uploads, but that's no excuse. This is a beautiful rhythmic piece. First off, you capture a bird-like rhythm---the lines are little breaths, you break up thoughts into component breaths, and it gives the staccato rhythm of birds bobbing, singing, hopping, flitting. I don't know if you meant that intentionally, but you must have felt it deep inside, because the poem is loaded with a delightful staccato rhythm. Example: "At night/Who knows/It's dark/They're dark..." "Faithful as any/Congregation..." "Some find them/Bothersome" "Personally/I like their commitment/Tenacity/Dedication to ritual"---you break up your thoughts, allowing the final word (the big meaning) to drop on us. Ba-boom. I really like that, and how that rhythm feels like the rhythms of birds. I don't think they'd write in long elegiac sentences, if they could write: They'd write like this. (Btw you use "liminal". I just had to say that. Not enough "liminals" these days. And "the liminal hour" is the perfect phrase for that time of day...) I also love how you start at an indeterminate place: They're all over the place, no one knows how many, they could be anywhere: But then the decisive moment comes, and they gather. They fly off to the place chosen before the earth was formed. Really nice motion, sequence, the way you move from that to the grackle-activities of gathering, kibbitzing, chit-chatting away. (Yes, grackles kibbutz. Lotta Jewish grackles.) And I love the repetitions, "SItting shoulder/To shoulder to/Shoulder to shoulder/To shoulder". You cut off the phrase at "to" and "shoulder"---it feels like it is, the random beat of gathering and interruptions. You end various stanzas with the big meaning---"Happy hour is/Wherever there is an abundance/Of lines and signs". In one stanza, you end several lines with time-of-day things---"Singing down the sun/Ushering out the day/Welcoming the night/Every dusk..." (sun/day/night/dusk") And it all ends in a life affirming embrace---"All is right with the world," as the grackles get together and do their thing. Beautiful poem, Tara. I read it when it went up, and I don't know why I took so long to comment on it. Probably because literary comments take me forever, but it deserved a comment the day it went up. Your pacing, your beats, your line divisions, the way you put thoughts at the ends of a phrase, your sounds, your progression (the journey of the poem from start to finish) are all wonderful. Glad you returned to poetry after that long struggle with your eyes. This is wonderful! (Btw: Do you know how tedious it is to quote from poems??? You couldn't have written prose???? I mean with all the freakin' line breaks, the "/"s, the capitalization of every damned line??? Think of your commenters, man! This wasn't easy!) I love the opening too---"they're always somewhere": Takes us right into your journey. Love the poem, a total delight. I actually copied and pasted it to a word processor, so I could see it in a separate window while I commented. Wonderful work, once more!