Since I started this blog in 2006, I've never posted so little as I did in 2023, and fully half of the posts of the year were in October, when I wrote daily bird poems. Not only did I write very little in 2023, but I didn't read much poetry, either. I read novels and non-fiction. I don't have many of my poetry books here with me in Uganda, and there's not that much poetry to be found around me, either. I read some online, but I only posted in 21 Poetry Fridays last year, and on many of those days, I didn't find the time to make the rounds and read everyone else's contributions.
As always, I thought a lot about a word for the year. It's a time when newness has a big pull on us; we want to believe that things will be different with this new number on the calendar. But I just kept thinking that I wasn't done yet with last year's word, that I didn't want to pick a new one. In spite of my lack of reading and writing poetry last year, I loved my 2023 word, FEATHER. It's filled with the lightness and beauty I craved, and sometimes found, in 2023. I wrote last January about my reasons for choosing this word, and they haven't changed. It's my second New Year's in the same country, and I'm happy about that; lack of change can be a good thing.
So this year I'm not changing my word. I'm keeping FEATHER. Maybe I'll just keep it from now on; who knows?
Today I'm sharing a feathery poem by Matthew Brenneman about three distinctive birds. (Really, once you start paying attention, there's no such thing as a generic bird, any more than there is a generic place or a generic person.) I'll give you the first few lines of each bird, and then you can follow the links to read the rest. The first thing you learn when you start studying birding is not to anthropomorphize, but I can't help it. Which of these three birds is the most like you? I think at this time in my life, I'm maybe the most like the Barn Swallow of the middle stanza: "there's something to be said/For feathering a kind of heaven/On a few twigs and some frayed bits of thread,/From what she finds that she is given."
Three Birds
Matthew Brenneman
1. Albatross
A thousand miles of gale-lashed sea
Is nothing to this wingèd mariner.
Of all the birds, he would prefer
This emptiness to earth's solidity,
The gray abstraction of the waves
Rolling beneath great tapered wings, whose span
Would dwarf the stature of a man...
2. Barn Swallow
A hanging porch-light's broken bulbless cup
Will do as well as anything.
She fits it to her purpose, flying up
With spoils of tugs and rummaging...
Here's the continuation, and then click to the next page for the rest.
3. Snowy Egret
Light rain lifting. Pond like glass.
The shadblow's given way to dogwood and
Forsythia, which summons bees
Through stands of arrowwood and sassafras.
He loves this marsh, its rich interstices,
This confluence of sea and sky and land.
Check here for the SJT (Spiritual Journey Thursday) January roundup, and here for the Poetry Friday roundup for the week.
13 comments:
Ruth, I think it is lovely that you a keeping your word for another year. For many years my husband kept the word FUN. At first I thought it was just because he didn't want to play along with me when it came to OLW, but then I discovered the wisdom in his choice. FUN sustained us through many difficult years and it continues to be a fiber of our family life. May you discover more nuances and delights that FEATHER has to offer.
xo, ruth
Ruth, sometimes a word stretches its guiding light beyond one year. May FEATHER lift you up, lighten your heart, and take you to new places throughout the year.
I’m partial to the egret poem as a snowy white egret visits our bayou daily. The flash of those white feathers make me wish I could find one. Thanks for joining us with your feathered writing. I’ve missed your voice. Margaret
Ruth, good for you for revisiting "feather" -- full of lightness and beauty. May this be a wonder-filled year for you. By the way, I'm with you, relating mostly to the barn swallow. I'm a contented person like she is a contented bird.
Simply marvelous that you are keeping "feather" close to you again this year, Ruth. It is ALWAYS lovely to see your words at PF Roundup. I'm so glad you're here. xo
Ruth, it is lovely that FEATHER can be both a verb and a noun. It is specific and yet filled with opportunity!
I am a barn swallow, too, Ruth - though I feel a kinship to the snowy egret...we share a love for our environments, mine being the desert. :)
In fact, now I may need to go write a ghost poem like snowy egret's. :)
Oh, what an interesting word. I do think sometimes we just aren't quite ready to let go of our words. I was that way several years ago. Now I am back to read those bird poems and see which one I connect with!
Ruth, Feather is a unique one word that as you say, "filled with the lightness and beauty I craved". Beside that you are such a great bird watcher and information sender that I can see why feathers intrigue you. As I read your post, I flashed back to the series "The Gilded Age" and remembered the fashionable hats with huge feathers adorning them. I look forward to 2024 revealing some new findings about your one word. I was not sure if I wanted a new word or not for 2024 but a word kept calling to me that I made the connection to unveil that one as a continuance of "Be".
I don't think I'm one of the birds you highlighted. Perhaps I'm a sparrow, plain-looking, but both tough and cheery at the same time.
I love the idea of keeping the same word for more than one year. And feather is such a great word!
Hi Ruth: I have missed you. I have considered what bird I might be also. Maybe a chickadee. My brother carved a lovely one for me! Feathers allow soaring! Blessings.
Reading your post on Thursday made me realize that I didn't have to choose a new word.It took me a few days to be sure, but I'm sticking with gather for another year. I would love to be a snowy white egret, standing still among the forsythia, arrowwood and sassafras. I remember being on a walk in NY and coming around a corner almost face to face with an egret. A lovely memory!
May your year with feather continue to bring lightness and beauty.
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