Ups/Downs
Ups/Downs
Wings ring my temples.
At times, they flap,
their great éclat emulating
the birdheart’s elation with just beating.
Other times, they balk,
become a hulk of blind raptor,
shafts splintering eyes’ dim.
Worms, as if they were thoughts in seeded earth,
interlace the frayed feathers,
try to seize space,
make a way for creased daylight,
but all those mites that birds are prey to
suck at these ribs
of clay–
Noble flight winds down
to dead buzz,
éclat clatters,
but the heart hears only
that it’s beaten.
******************
Here’s a sort of poem for Grapeling’s Get Listed prompt on With Real Toads, Grapeling (Michael) posts a word list related to the film Dead Poet’s Society, and writes a lovely piece about the sadness around the death of the wonderful Robin Williams. (Check it out!)
I’m not sure the picture above is quite finished, but it is one of mine. All rights reserved.
Ps this poem has been edited since first posting.
Explore posts in the same categories: poetry, UncategorizedTags: bird heart, depression, http://withrealtoads.com, manic depression, manicddaily, Robin Williams
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ManicDDaily 
August 13, 2014 at 9:41 pm
some days we fly…and others…well…
we are worms searching for a bit of day light
i guess
i live for those moments.
August 13, 2014 at 9:43 pm
You do! k.
August 13, 2014 at 11:34 pm
What imagery.. Capturing that darkness, we just need to find our way back.. But at the end there’s just darkness wherever we search
August 14, 2014 at 2:01 am
the centerpiece, in the middle, to me:
worms, as if they were thoughts in seeded earth
I think the picture captures so much heart (as it were). soaring giving way to clattering, as it ever does. as Kerry noted, and others, so many have felt his passing so deeply, even more so than when Hoffman died a few months ago. you’ve woven the list words with élan, and I thank you for adding your voice, k ~
August 14, 2014 at 5:59 am
a blind raptor. i’ll have to consider what that would be like.
August 14, 2014 at 10:58 am
… and then we die. Too many unable to see past the pain.
August 14, 2014 at 12:07 pm
I’ve had a different ending, more positive, maybe will change back. k.
On Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 11:58 AM, ManicDDaily wrote:
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August 14, 2014 at 11:48 am
great last stanza k. – and yes – someday i feel like an eagle – like nothing can stop me – others…… not so much…. ha
August 14, 2014 at 6:31 pm
MDD, this is filled with interesting movement and images. The eagle (NICE art, by the way) with its internal monologue, the worms (am I the ONLY one who didn’t do something with the damned worms?!). And the heart, which by rights is at the center of it all, interested only in its own mechanism. No stopping this bird! Amy
August 14, 2014 at 11:32 pm
I much enjoy the opening lines, k, and as ever adore your artwork, wonderful 🙂
August 15, 2014 at 7:10 am
Thanks. I wasn’t happy with the end, and changed it and now can’t really stand to look at it. Thanks though, Polly. k.
On Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 12:32 AM, ManicDDaily wrote:
>
August 15, 2014 at 7:47 am
Your originality is remarkably evident in this metaphoric description, and excellent turn of phrase.
all those mites that birds are prey to
suck at these ribs
of clay–
Sometimes it is an accumulation of seemingly insignificant factors which can end a noble life.
August 16, 2014 at 9:14 pm
It took years for me to be able to fly out of the darkness….you have so aptly written the yin/yang of that time.
August 17, 2014 at 11:14 am
Thanks. k.