One Way of Looking At Thirteen Blackbirds? (“Homage To Wallace Et Al.”)
Photo by Tracy Grumach
Homage to Wallace Stevens and His Thirteen-Sided Bird
I.
One problem with the way I sometimes live in
this small-cubicled, cylindrical-chuted,
left-brained world is that
instead of finding thirteen ways
of looking at a blackbird, I get stuck
in one way of looking at thirteen blackbirds.
II.
Other times, like the thin men of Haddam, I look for golden
birds, and fail to enjoy the ebon sheen
of present wings, or worse, mistake them for the shadow
of my own equipage.
III.
O Wallace, Sage of Hartford–Connect(itcut) me
with nothing that is not there, and also
the nothing that is;
the path flown by the
blackbird, hard to miss, harder
still to trace.
IV.
I often revisit
regrets.
Blackbirds circle
the chaff-strewn field, cawing
when they land.
V.
“Should” is a word to which
no blackbird
pays much mind.
VI.
My mind, when sad,
ia like a tree in which
there are no
blackbirds.
VII.
Sometimes the heart takes flight, sighting, hawk-like,
the bright eye of an idea.
Other times the heart takes flight
simply because it has seen
a blackbird.
VIII.
A man and a woman are one.
A man, a woman and a blackbird
are a man, a woman and a blackbird.
IX.
No blackbird will ever
be baked into one
of my pies.
X.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
thank you.
XI.
When I want to see a blackbird, I just shut
my eyes. It helps if there’s bright
sun.
XII.
In city rains, each droplet carries one small speck
of
blackbird.
XIII.
The tree trunks stretch limbs of jet black wing;
my heart expands and constricts at once;
in this, it is like
the blackbird.
The blackbird, wings beating, labors,
then soars; in this, it is like
my heart.
********************************
The above is a poem (or draft poem) inspired by the the beautiful photograph of Tracy Grumbach, above, a dVerse Poets Pub Poetics prompt, and also, of course, “Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird” by the incomparable Wallace Stevens. I am not sure if Tracy’s photograph is really of blackbirds–they look more like raptors to me–but the Stevens came to mind, so I used a bit of poetic and ornithologic license.
This is also my draft poem written for the 7th day of National Poetry Month.
Have a lovely holiday–Easter or Passover. And thanks much for all your kind support.
Explore posts in the same categories: poetryTags: Homage to thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird, Homage to Wallace Stevens, manicddaily, One Way of Looking at Thirteeen Blackbirds, Tracy Grumbach
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ManicDDaily 
April 7, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Connect(itcut) me….so very cool k….and in case you’re starting to bake blackbird into your pies…i’m not coming to dinner that night..just saying…ha..loved it ..and yeah…the heart is indeed like a blackbird at times..
April 7, 2012 at 4:34 pm
“The tree trunks stretch limbs of jet black wing”
I love not only how this sounds, but what it represents. The brain’s ability to imitate image once you look for it is interesting. The more you contemplate blackbirds, the more you will see blackbirds. The more you seek religion, the more you see religion. The more we look, the more we find. Ulitimately, everything is like everything else: a heart, a tree, a pie, a bird, a word, a feeling, a song, a smile. Perhaps we should use your advice. But should we strive to see thirteen lives in one way or one life in thirteen ways? I would think the latter.
April 7, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Very nice bouquet of black bird verses ..I specially like 4,5 and 6 stanzas.
Wishing you Happy day ~
Grace
April 7, 2012 at 5:03 pm
This is one of the better “13 Ways” take offs I’ve seen–you actually flatten out some of the tendency of that poem to ornate introspection with humor, then do a bit of it yourself rather gloriously, and your vocabulary is nice and sparse, not inflected, which makes the lines soar nicely on the energy you’ve garnered constricting. (Also, Haddam has no i. But it’s a very cool town I once spent a summer in–the whole place was like the back of some rich person’s estate where no one but the help hangs out.)
PS–I put two additional commas in my poem for this prompt purely for you. ;_)
April 7, 2012 at 5:23 pm
I enjoyed this immensely. Made me want to write one too..always a mark of a poem that moves me, inspires me, intrigues me, challenges me. Your poem did all of that, painting a picture of your own kind of unique vision, revealing you as a very fine artist.
April 8, 2012 at 8:09 am
Ha. Thanks much, Gay. k.
April 7, 2012 at 5:53 pm
ha. love this…i really like #12 and #13 and #5…love all the angles you went at them K…is blackbird India food…maybe if i ate a few of those pickles first…smiles….well done…
April 7, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Even with pickles, sounds suspicious! (Although they can cover almost anything.) Thanks. Have a happy Easter. K.
April 7, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Way kool, original take and presentation. I enjoyed my visit.
April 7, 2012 at 6:44 pm
reminds me of the old English Reliquary there were three ravens sat on a tree but with a modern touch
black tailed fliers/
April 7, 2012 at 8:09 pm
“instead of finding thirteen ways
of looking at a blackbird, I get stuck
in one way of looking at thirteen blackbirds.”
I love your brain.
Nice:
“the shadow of my own equipage”
“with nothing that is not there, and also the nothing that is”
“A man and a woman are one.
A man, a woman and a blackbird
are a man, a woman and a blackbird.”
Have I mentioned that I love your brain?
April 8, 2012 at 8:01 am
Ha! Thanks so much! (It’s an increasingly lapse-filled brain, soggy.)
April 7, 2012 at 9:02 pm
I needed a laugh and a new perspective and you gave me several. Wonderful work, thank you!
April 7, 2012 at 9:15 pm
I especially like IV and VI.
April 7, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Oh my! Delicious, brilliant. I laughed at VIII. A great take on the mind. Well done.
April 8, 2012 at 12:00 am
Oh! I am so glad I didn’t miss this. What a wonderful romp through all things blackbird.
Powerful imagery and words, K.
And yep, looks like raptors to me….broadwings to be exact. Probably Redtail.
A wonderful collection of blackbird memorabilia-in-poetry~!
This is inventive, far reaching and haunting. And no, no blackbirds in a pie for me~
Lady Nyo.
April 8, 2012 at 1:49 am
It’s so versatile! Heard of a ‘blackbird baked in a pie’ but this! So many episodes that called for a blackbird presence. Black is beautiful so they say! Great write,K!
Hank
April 8, 2012 at 5:01 am
Oh, I so much enjoyed that first stanza, I didn’t want to move on in case… but I need not have worried, there was masses more, all equally as good. Top writing this, to be sure!
April 8, 2012 at 5:46 am
Nice work. I like what you did here. 🙂 VIII and XII stands out for me. It seems the blackbird can be obvious and imposing or simply just be, in every element not interfering.
April 8, 2012 at 8:49 am
These variations on a theme, so to speak, are delightful. The mind and soul are so fruitful in their ability to wind through the labyrinth of language. The passion of that search is so powerfully present in your poem. The fruits brings us nourishment for our paths thru the winding paths, the mesmerizing abundance of words and the joy we take in manifesting reality.
April 8, 2012 at 9:31 am
Thanks, Charles.
April 8, 2012 at 9:41 am
I loved visiting and seeing your interpretation of my image with your beautiful words. I loved the words
“Should” is a word to which
no blackbird
pays much mind.
Should is a word to which I need to learn to not pay much mind.
😉
April 8, 2012 at 11:44 am
Thanks so much, and thanks for wonderful photos. K.
April 8, 2012 at 12:39 pm
I enjoyed this! Excellent take on the thirteen blackbirds! My favourites: IV, VI, VII, XII, XIII. Truly inspired.
April 8, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I love Stevens, and I love this! So much more than mere homage; it stands in its own right. Especially the final stanza, comparing the blackbirds to the heart (in truth, I cannot choose a favorite). Thank you.
April 8, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Glorious- I love this- so rich, diverse, thoughtful. My favouritewas VI- this spoke to me completely. What an awesome take on the prompt- so original- this has defo taught me something- great way of packing in an enormous and varied range of emotions- all focused on one bird- fantastic
April 11, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Very nice work with these. The imagery is strong and powerful, and as others have said, you have shown amazing variety in all of these poems. Great work.
VI and VIII would have to be my favourites (the second reminding me slightly of I am the Walrus, but that’s just me).
April 11, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Thanks so much. K>