Blackbirds
I am 52 years old, and have spent
truly the better part
of my life out-of-doors
but yesterday I heard a new sound above my head
a rustling, ruffling quietness in the spring air
and when I turned my face upward
I saw a flock of blackbirds
rounding a curve I didn't know was there
and the sound was simply all those wings
just feathers against air, against gravity
and such a beautiful winning
the whole flock taking a long, wide turn
as if of one body and one mind.
How do they do that?
Oh if we lived only in human society
with its cruelty and fear
its apathy and exhaustion
what a puny existence that would be
but instead we live and move and have our being
here, in this curving and soaring world
so that when, every now and then, mercy and tenderness triumph in our lives
and when, even more rarely, we manage to unite and move together
toward a common good,
and can think to ourselves:
ah yes, this is how it's meant to be.
----- by Julie Cadwallader Staub
(Betty's Note: My apologies to those bird people who know the photo is not of a blackbird! It's the closest I could get!)
31 comments:
Beautifully written Betty!
Betty when you put pen to paper, or in this case fingers to keys, it is always beautiful...
Madi and Mom
So beautifully written! One to ponder!
Awww!
It's a bird, it's black. It's a blackbird!
:-)
I love this poem - thank you for sharing it here. I like the soarind sentiment of flying high and above and reaching for the skies always looking upwards and onwards!
Take care
x
It's a beautiful photo and an even more beautiful poem (loved the sentiment behind it)
I think that may be actually a Brewer's Blackbird, or possibly a Grackle...either way, yes, that is a Blackbird!
I wouldn't have known it's not a blackbird, but it doesn't matter anyway. The poem and the photo are simply gorgeous. Thanks!
It's a beauty of a bird nonetheless.
Cheers,
Robyn
All I can think of is The Beatles song. One of my favorites.
You know what? It works as a blackbird for me...
Don't care what type of bird that is, it's very cute. Cheers me up.
Ha, oh yes they are beautiful. Until they all land in your yard, make a huge mess, and utterly freak out your dog. Or if you have recently watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. But still, amazing. :)
A world with just humans? Ugh. How dreary!
Great little piece. Thanks.
Love that Betty! And you know I don't think I've ever seen a real, live black bird before. Cool picture!
Animals are necessary in my world. :) (Spiders, not so much.)
I'm with Ms. Staub, that IS how it's meant to be! Thanks for the post, Betty!
You find some lovely poems to post Betty - I really like this one.
I think this perhaps is my favorite poem so far. It truly exemplifies the beauty we see in the ordinary and it usually takes us half our life to realize that the beauty is all around us, every single day.
Love...
even more rarely, we manage to unite and move together
toward a common good,
and can think to ourselves:
ah yes, this is how it's meant to be
I do love the birdies!
Pearl
Beautiful Betty!
lovely betty! i missed you! i've been crazy busy freelance writing and am trying to keep up with my blog reading, commenting and posting!
FourthGradeNothing.com
Since that was so beautiful I'll overlook the fact that it wasn't a blackbird in the picture.
Such vivid imagery, and rather profound. How beautiful it would be to be able to soar above all our drudgery and exhaustion, moving towards a common good. Nicely done.
I just love this poem. Thanks for posting it.
Gorgeous poetry! Simply gorgeous.
And I think it's a starling, but it's a bird and it's black so it's a blackbird.
The best sound from above I've ever heard was from swans lifting off a pond.
Hi BB-It's magic when you have one of these moments; when you are really, truly present, and you become aware of something-some smell or some sound, some visual, that you would never have noticed otherwise and you feel blessed for having noticed it. My goal in life is to have more of those moments. I've noticed you seem to have a lot of them and I think you are the type that remembers to count your blessings. I admire that.
Thank you for this beautiful post and poem. My daughter has become fascinated with identifying birds and watching their behavior. Her curiosity has peaked my own. The picture is about as close as we've gotten to seeing a blackbird! The freedom of flight is marvelous to ponder.
:)!
What a beautiful poem!
Lovely pic of a blackbidrd
xx
It's a good picture nonetheless!
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