9 Comments
User's avatar
Bence Ádók's avatar

An absolute killer poem. You have gained a new subscriber, this was so genuinely incredible, like 'the croaking blots, but plumes of inky hell

derisively refract the light

and do not fly, but put to flight.'

are you kidding me? This is so magnetically beautiful

Expand full comment
J. Tullius's avatar

I seldom get such effusive praise, and I deeply appreciate it. I’m glad this spoke to you.

Expand full comment
MARJORAM's avatar

The first and last stanzas were best. Thank you for this wonderful poem, please write more!

Expand full comment
Daniel Bishop's avatar

I would gladly read an epic about the War of the Birds in your backyard.

Expand full comment
J. Tullius's avatar

"Sing O Muse of the doomed downtrodden,

the many-feathered victims of misery!"

Expand full comment
Robert Charboneau's avatar

That's a solid ending, the way you move out in scope and find the general truth in the particular moment. We have scrub jays in our neighborhood, which don't gather like grackles, but still shoo the other birds away. And a hawk that comes down from the hills once and awhile...

Expand full comment
J. Tullius's avatar

Being from SoCal, I had seldom seen birds of great beauty up close—just seagulls and what I called "parking lot birds." Colorado is very different. I see bald eagles, red tail hawks, house finches, gold finches, great blue herons (my favorite), cormorants, the occasional kingfisher, and of course grackles on a fairly regular basis.

Expand full comment
Robert Charboneau's avatar

Having good birds hanging around the neighborhood is as salutary as having lots of houseplants in the house. I fill my birdfeeder up every other day so I can hear them singing on the weekends.

Expand full comment
James Hart's avatar

Really enjoyed the sentiment (and the pun at the end, of course). Birds are so much closer to ourselves than I think many realize; I find it only natural to wonder how we’d perceive things from their perspective.

Expand full comment