Saturday, December 2, 2017

Traveling: a poem

Traveling
By: Anna C. Urquhart


Droves of geese, headed south,
The noisesuch hernk-ing!—
builds ‘til I no longer hear
the traffic nor whir of machines.

The sound pulls me to the garden
where I look up, dizzied,
the sky full of undulating “V”s.
(My, there are so many.)

Songbirds in tree boughs
notice the noisy travelers
overhead.

The robin and chickadee are not geese,
but don’t mind the difference—
They look up, see feather and beak,
and know each other for kin.

The air fills with bird noise—
SquawkCheepWarbleChirpScree

And it is as it is meant to be
when we encounter those traveling.

We cannot shorten the road, but
our song tells them: I see you
have made it this far.
Such a journey to undertake.
Yes, carry on; better lands await.
Persist.
Be brave.

Do all the birds along the path call out?
So it seems,
and with such song
we carry
each other

home.

3 comments:

  1. I did not know you were a poet, Anna! I love it. As I age, I'm the oldish lady bird hernking to the young birds, Carry on, better lands await! Very nice.
    I wish you and your family well, and happy, and a wonderful Christmas season ��
    Hernking is an awesome word, btw

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Danni! Keep up the "oldish lady bird hernking" - all the young birds need it! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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