There are birds of preycaged in the parkwhere after train rideskids sought a sojourn in the tiny zooto commune with with goats and deer
And all kinds of birds: peafowl,a dozen chickens and roosters,barn owls, red-tailed hawks,even two haggard bald eaglesseparately enclosed
Talking with little onesabout raptors and hunting and flightand injury requiring rehabilitationhence the tagsand chain link fences
Several times we saw a wild hawkscoping chipmunkshigh above the hawk cagein a cruel displayof freedom
We walked with toddlerswho were learningabout their space in the worldwhile peacocksstrutted their opulent plumagein confinement
NaPoWriMo Day 24!
Responding to Margaret’s prompt in the Imaginary Garden: BEAUTY
Also, it is the birthday of the Runaway Sentence! This girl turns seven today! Thank you, friends, for all these years of scribbling and blogging and support and fun. Love!
I cannot tell you how much I love poems that showcase the ironies of animals in captivity in a way that really creates awareness. This is up there with Ted Hughes and Lawrence in my esteem.
ReplyDeleteWell... thank you, Kerry. xoxo *ferklempt*
DeleteVery nice
ReplyDeletemuch love...
they're chickens, basically, with brighter feathers. or rather, descendants of dinosaurs. either way, you've 'caught' them well here ~
ReplyDeleteThis is such a powerfully written poem, Marian. One which calls attention to the cruelty which animals are subject. Especially touched by; "We walked with toddlers who were learning about their space in the world while peacocks strutted their opulent plumage in confinement."
ReplyDeleteWell penned ...you might enjoy William Horwood's 'Callanish'
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary!! Oh, the irony of how we cage beauty. All living things wish for freedom. We humans are too often beasts.
ReplyDeleteGood parenting or reality.... A lot to consider here.
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary
I love that last stanza, especially. Learning out our space in the world. Yes.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast of that free hawk ... !
ReplyDeleteI like the powerful understatement with which you make your points.
Loving this, Marian. Teaching our young from the fowls, mostly with them, "size rules". When we visited the Penguins in The Falklands it was that way with them. Both parents hatched and raised their young. The young and the eggs were food for the larger "birds of prey."
ReplyDeleteEven when they grew large enough to walk to the beach and learn to catch fish, they would be attacked. And also the sharks would take them.
BTW, we've been having bird attacks of humans, walking on the sidewalks near the Houston Museum District. Mostly they are Mocking Birds, a protected specie. Only think to do is be careful and walk fast. I've seen that an umbrella helps. It probably will make Network TV, it won't be fake news.
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Nicely done, Marian -- Birds in captivity say more about our need to contain the wild in our children than any gifts we impart to these caged birds, and you caught that tension perfectly. Congrats on blog birthday no. 7.
ReplyDeleteconfinement vs. freedom The swooping hawk may not live as long, but he will live freely...
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, these birds are injured and are captive because they are being rehabilitated by caring people. But it still is always strange to see these majestic winged creatures caged.
ReplyDeleteSeven is a very pretty age! Congrats on another year of fine writing, through all the ups and downs.
ReplyDelete