Making the Best of It – Natural Life In Unnatural World (“They Perch”)
They Perch
They perch
on posts in the Hudson above/
below Canal, by the West Side Highway,
downtown.
Walking, we duck
our heads, bob knees, swish shoulders–as if
our moves will motivate their stretch
or intake of wing.
On a sunny day, their still basking
seems so reasonable that it takes some time
to realize that
they are sculpted–Herons?
Seagulls?
On those same sunny days,
New Yorkers stretch
on the jetties, Adam’s apples towards the
sky–there, by the brick/braille ventilation
tower of the Holland Tunnel, all that
putput
below the tide.
We want to think that our life
is natural, here in this city, country, mindset.
We want to believe
that a place where many building windows
do not even open
can support wild birds.
Apparently, there’s even a raptor
or two, aeries wedged
by cornice.
We want
to believe that they like it
here. That even untempered
by doses of the more rarified Metroplitan (opera or gallery) (which
we too do not experience enough)
life
can thrive.
We strain–eyes, head, shoulder–
just in case a living one
has gotten confused, just in case
a living one
has landed, perhaps even
settled down.
On the opposite side, cars
rush every green light.
Hi all! Happy Saturday Night! The above poem is a draft posted for the wonderful dVerse Poets Pub poetics prompt, hosted by Brian Miller, based on beautiful photographs by Reena Walkling. I don’t like to post other people’s are work so have done my own drawn version of Reena’s photo above.
(As always, all rights reserved.)
Explore posts in the same categories: iPad art, poetry, UncategorizedTags: iPad art, manicddaily, ManicDDaily poetry, Poem about natural life in city, Reena Walkling
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
ManicDDaily 
February 18, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Love the drawing, K! And the poem has that gritty city feel to it with a touch of wishful country melancholy… or something like that. (I get carried away sometimes.) I like it, ah’ight?
February 18, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Nice drawing….I do like the reflective take on the city and the birds….as if they are a rare sight to behold….unlike us though, they can fly away free ~
February 18, 2012 at 10:27 pm
I really like the contrast of the city hustle and bustle with the peaceful essence of birds. I was amazed at all the birds in NYC when I visited a few years ago.
February 18, 2012 at 10:32 pm
I almost feel guilty…are we so blind as to not see?……..the green light racers….
where I live…we go on red and challenge green to catch us
Peace
February 18, 2012 at 10:36 pm
smiles…there is life in the city…its just a bit different you know…i love NYC…i love my woods and all the animals that roll through the back yard…sometimes a bit like your traffic…smiles…its life, just a bit different…smiles…nice write k
February 19, 2012 at 3:45 am
nice…love that the pic took you to the hudson river…smiles… i will be in NYC end of march…so in case you got time for a cup of coffee..would be cool to meet you k.
February 19, 2012 at 9:49 am
Thanks so much–that would be lovely–also are you performing on sax? I will be happy to send you contact info/etc. k.
February 19, 2012 at 7:08 am
I am convinced by the way you use the bird and his still world to reflect on our more hurried and troubled one. I see a Venn Diagram of two overlapping worlds, the bird’s and ours.
February 19, 2012 at 9:19 am
Love the ending and this section:
“We want to believe
that a place where many building windows
do not even open
can support wild birds”
I think this is a nice metaphor for life … any kind of concrete boxes without windows might stifle life for “wild birds.”
February 19, 2012 at 9:21 am
Ha! Yes! (I really do hate this about virtually all NYC office buildings. No possible natural ventilation.)
February 19, 2012 at 10:30 am
Yes, indeed, K—so insightful here–our hearts are thirsty for life, for the idea that our artificial worlds are not sterile. I worked for years in municipal park systems, and those small spaces of non-concrete were both a refuge and a place where everything dark and secret in the human psyche seemed to gravitate…nature is deep inside our DNA. Fine eye in this one, full of great phrases (brick/braille, where windows do not open…) that sink home your points.
February 19, 2012 at 1:03 pm
I do love NYC myself, but I also understand the emotions you express. I was always fascinated as well by the fact that peregrine falcons are able to nest on those concrete giants. You really do a wonderful job of capturing the alienation from nature that lurks at the heart of NYC’s inhabitants and perhaps the soul of the city itself – if cities have souls! I also enjoyed the idea of what you did with the photo, conveying this transmogrified image that city dwellers have of nature and themselves in nature.
February 19, 2012 at 2:36 pm
These lines make so much sense to me:
“We want to believe
that a place where many building windows
do not even open
can support wild birds.”
Hum, that’s a good one to think about. I love the way your poetry engages reflection in a way that I’ve rarely seen. Good thinking AND good writing, love that.
February 19, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Thanks so much. K.
February 19, 2012 at 3:42 pm
i just thought the fact that you could paint this again was awesome. who would imagine writing this about NYC…and I’m from NYC!!
private dreamliner
February 19, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Ha. Well, you may know about the walkway along the Hudson. It’s actually quite nice. K.
February 19, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Love what you did with the photo! And then to put the setting in NYC! Awesome!
February 19, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Dear Reena, thanks so much. The photos were so beautiful. I think I actually liked (all) the mountains a bit better even–they were all just stunning–but I had seen this one on Claudia’s site, so already had an idea by the time Brian posted the others. I will check out your site, thanks much! (I actually have thought of a few different poems to the others. They are really lovely.)