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John Daleiden, US
Birds of a
Feather
The OutlawPoets
have filled cyber space with the enchanted songs of birds for
the entire month of January. The poets wrote 111 bird haiku—all
different birds. I have just walked through the cyber
sanctuary—it is a twitter with varied sound and plumage ranging
from the dull to the very colorful.
These two attributes of the avian world are what captured my
attention as I read and re-read the bird haiku—the many sounds
of bird voices and the striking visual appearance of the birds.
The sounds birds make are quite distinctive. Some of the poets
have managed to capture bird songs in unique ways. First, a
strident voice:
winter cold
the Stellars Jay voices
his displeasure
Trish Shields, CA
Here we find a
Stellars Jay screeching “displeasure”—perhaps a cat has attacked
a fledgling—or perhaps another Jay has encroached on claimed
territory. We do not know the exact cause and we are free to
speculate as we listen to the cacophonous dispute.
“kek, kek, kek”
circling, circling
the falcon
Betty Kaplan, US
In this setting
the call of the falcon comes from high above as it glides on
thermal currents. Is the call to a mate—a call of allure, or is
it a call of alarm? Once again the poet has deftly described a
scene, imbuing that scene with the sound of a falcon as we also
visually see it gliding high above. The perpetual soaring nature
of the falcon is deftly reinforced by the repetition of
“circling, circling” paired with the repeated call—“kek, kek,
kek”. The striking sound image combined with the visual image is
memorable.
On a much more pleasant note we find a pastoral scene in this
haiku:
Woven
into the wind-chime tinkle
a whippoorwill’s call
Zhanna P. Rader, US
Carried on a mild
breeze the tinkle of a wind-chime is mingled with the distant
call of a whippoorwill at dusk. How serene. How pleasant. How
relaxing.
And in utter contrast we find:
People quarreling
at the pet shop. Two parrots
perched in silence.
Andreas Gripp, CA
Parrots, birds
gifted with the ability to imitate human speech, “perch” in
silence as humans fill the air with their quarreling voices. The
reversal of roles provides a moment of levity. Delicious irony.
Who has not awakened in the morning to the sound of scavenging
birds squabbling over discarded remains:
vultures…
city workers
in the morning hours
Shanna Baldwin Moore, US
The boisterous
sound of scavenging vultures “in the morning hours” ironically,
turns out to be city workers. Or, are the “vultures” doing the
job that is usually done by city workers? This interesting turn
of words—a personification of humans as “vultures” is an
unexpected reversal that brings a bit of humor to the scene.
The visual qualities exhibited in the behavior of some birds is
remarkably like human behavior. Observe:
fluffing up
in front of the beauty shop
two fat rock pigeons
Betty Kaplan, US
Here, the subtle
use of metaphor evokes a moment of pleasure for the reader who
recognizes similar circumstances between birds and human
females—in a few deft words the poet provides a commentary on
behavior.
Male behavior is also easily depicted with bird behavior:
stately penguins—
stuffed shirts arrive
at the ball
Trish Shields, CA
The elegant black
and white attire of the “stately penguins” when viewed in human
terms depicts humans dressed in a similar style as “stuffed
shirts” arriving at a ball. Are these men merely corpulent
beasts, or are they also dull and deferential in personality
ways? Perhaps they are both, but the ambiguity provides a
pleasurable moment of recognition.
In each of these haiku the poet focuses on vocalized sound and
or visual behavior characteristics that capture a moment
relevant to both the avian world and the human world. Delightful
moments are captured in these seven haiku.
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