Thinking of Mary Oliver and e-bird, two kindred spirits.




Possibility

This morning two doves are preening

On a low limb of the pine just outside

My door, close enough to touch them,

So absorbed they are with their ritual

Cleansing and smoothing of feathers,

Each and each other's, not singing

But sighing, or so it seems, content.

 

One feather falls, though falls is not

The right word for something so slow

And serene, to the needled ground,

And I wonder if they know I will wait

And pick it up, carry it home to the

Others of its kind in a small dish of

Pine needles and two pale white eggs

 

Yesterday's storm dropped, but gently,

Beneath another pine from a nest

I cannot reach.  Having touched them,

The eggs become mine to care for,

Warming under a lamp and a flock

Of gathered feathers . . . like making

A poem out of nothing but possibility.





Poetry by countryfog
Read 1366 times
Written on 2012-04-17 at 18:23

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Melie Bacon
Thumbs up!
You definitely made a poem out of nuthin' but "possibility"...birds are particularly lovely creatures...however, you might've been more informative--e.g., by specifying which door the doves/tree were "outside" of--and polished (your diction was disjointed thru-out the poem, and it should've been written in past tense, thus:
"This morning I watched two doves
preening themselves and each other
in absorbed silence, on a low-limb
of the pine tree just outside my back door..."
...to create an immediate setting on which to build, while engendering a more "fluid" sentence). Beginning every line in caps is an outmoded practice. Otherwise, stylistic differences aside, I liked the subject matter and the sentiment. Focus on sentence structure/delivery.
2012-05-10


Nils Teodor The PoetBay support member heart!
Soft and gentle
I really like the last line
"A poem out of nothing but possiblility."
Thanks for sharing
N T
2012-04-21


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
I must confess that I don't care about birds' eggs, but the poem itself is beautifully written.
2012-04-21



Ep. predicts correctly, countryfog, that I am cheered by this piece; not only that, I am humbled to be considered a kindred spirit. Many thanks!
I agree wholeheartedly with Ep.'s comments, and I add that I love the attention to detail here. Your observation is keen, as is always the case, but there is something magical in these lines, compelling me to make my first bookmarking as e-bird.
Applause!
2012-04-19



There is much to applaud here.
We begin with a charming description; and as the poem developed I realised I had omitted to breathe, so absorbed had I become in the expert progression towards learning the precise nature of the possibility. And at the moment of revelation my heart grew as warm as the lamp. I am sure this piece will cheer the ailing e-bird.
2012-04-17