Monday, July 25, 2016

Mockingbird



He showed up on a 
Sunday (I remember my
Portuguese, Sunday=Domingo)
And began to sing.
He sings of doves in lower 
Terraces and bushtits in hedges.
He sings of hawks in high
Distance and a lazy cat --he makes
All their sounds, announcing to all
Birds this is a good garden to nest in.
He is a virtuoso --his opera includes
Survival-- and the birds come.
There is nothing medicinal in
His art of reciting himself
But he helps other birds decide,
And he makes me feel good.
I call him Placebo Domingo.
"Bravo", I tell him. "Bravo!"

14 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this. And it's so true. They have real life stories to tell in their songs. Kudos.

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    1. Thanks, Sandra. These little guys are among my favorite creatures --so persistent and cheerful-- despite being the bane of cats and flying down to conk my head if I get too near a nest. Fearless things!

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  2. Your best poem so far. I like the name Placebo Domingo. It fits.

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    1. Most kind Emma, I consider the mockingbird a creature of great merit. They are useful in communicating the presence of threats and allies --the stuff of opera.

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  3. Great play on the name! I've never heard or seen a mockingbird, that I know of. It occurs to me that I might not have realized it.

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    1. O Jenny, our northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) has relatives all over the world and sometimes its song can be taken for the creature it mimmics --they even do car-alarms!

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  4. Bravo to you! This cheered me. "Domingo" is also Sunday in Spanish, right? I think I remember a few words from Spanish class in High School.

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    1. Obrigado, Robyn. Yes, Portuguese is very much like Spanish except we were banished to the coast for using aitches ("H's", as in Sp. señor = Port. senhor). We were also afflicted with ulotrichy by invading Moors but I won't go into that.

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  5. Bravo indeed!
    And I love the notion of the mocking bird...the great theatrical being...playing so many roles to perfection...
    Absolutely brilliant!! :))

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    1. Thanks, Ygraine. They are amazing little beings and their stage includes the sky.

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  6. Bravo Geo!! Thank you for sharing the visage and word-songs of Placebo Domingo with me. Blessings, MW

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    1. Thank you! I appreciate your kind comment.

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  7. Norma's photography perfect as usual and your poem complimenting her art as well. I realized that the mocking bird does have it's role to play. Wow.

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    1. Norma wishes she could have got closer to the mockingbird but it would have flown away. They are indeed marvelous creatures.

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