For the Birds
A Study in Composition
In hopes of pursuing poetic sensitivity, presented here is a brief study of composition. This is a series of poems all composed using the image of a songbird. They change in various ways, mostly in theme and versification. Since the judgement of art begins in comparison, I thought it would be compelling to produce this little poetic experiment.
When reading a poem, the reader ought to ask himself, “Why was it written this way?” Any individual line could be written differently than it is. A poet could add an extra article, swap a word out for its synonym or transpose the word order. The possibilities are manifold.
The following examples, however, are not so subtle. The differences are often exaggerated, leaping from thematic extreme to thematic extreme. The focus here is less on syllable stress or word choice, and more on the effect of different thematic approaches. However, changes in theme will naturally compel changes in word stress and choice. I think the nature of the speakers, the sundry tones, and the overall effect of the entire collection will be of the most interest.
Also, in lieu of adding editorializing comments, I have instead opted to fashion my opinion into the titles.
The Story
The Union
A songbird sings sweetly above,
And my spirit rises to meet
Those chirping tingling tender tones,
That rapture me complete.The Vision
The songbird singing sweet above,
Uplifts my spirit to its sphere.
The tuneful chime beckons me on,
Attend and lend an ear.The Peep
The songbird sings with his own song,
He chirps along to his own beat,
He whistles tunes which he deems fit;
That master of the peep.The Malcontent
The songbird calls me from above,
He knows my name, my place of birth,
I look upon his hateful eye,
Wishing death upon the earth.The Smile
The songbird is dead
Ha
Ha
HaThe Myth
The songbird from the beginning,
Spoke rolling tongues taught by gods,
His each verse from eternity,
Each note spake divinity.The Devout
The songbird brought grace from on high,
And he has blessed me with his gifts.
He's descended down from the sky,
And given me his kiss.The Nightmare
The songbird ceased his mournful song,
And plunging swift pecked out the eyes,
Of a thousand screaming gallant knights,
And sang the blood of the throng.The Reflection
The songbird... He sings
He sings
He sings
To Me.The Self
I am the songbird, he is me,
I tittle and flap and tweet,
Hear all the sweets I have to say,
Until I fly away.The Burden
The great grin of the songbird grins
Tense with burrowed agony pains;
The unkempt nest of high-stacked sins
Covers him from the rain.The Elusion
A songbird upon the highest
Peak of a Ronin's weary dream
Speaks dripping tears of mother's eye
Weeping petals that seemThe Encounter
The songbird on my old wood shack,
Goes hopping cross its cedar shakes,
Takes a rest on the rough hewn ridge,
And watches as I rake.The Conundrum
For now the songbird is silent,
Keeping his notes in quiet vow,
Worried of being too violent,
Afraid he won't know how.