"Mockingbird upon the wire
sings his heart out with desire
and still he sits there all alone
without one song to call his own"
Multitudes of notes are learned,
and still he sits there all alone
without one song to call his own"
 |
| Kelvin S.M. 2012 "Resting" used with permission |
Multitudes of notes are learned,
octaves high to deeper
trills,
casting forth in perfect
pitch
keeping time, each
refrain builds;
intent to sing each
perfectly,
never noticing in youth--
galvanized, a local star,
building up a repertoire
ignoring just one basic
truth:
relegating to this choice
deterred the chance to
find his voice.
© Ginny Brannan 2013
For d'Verse Poetics: Dominant Impression in Artistic Description, hosted by Kelvin S.M., with recognition and special thanks to him for allowing us to choose one of his images as a source of inspiration!
For d'Verse Poetics: Dominant Impression in Artistic Description, hosted by Kelvin S.M., with recognition and special thanks to him for allowing us to choose one of his images as a source of inspiration!
...ah, even the mockingbird himself, in some way or another, dreamed of a solo repertoire... desiring to be known not for someone else's voices but rather for his own original tone... to sing his heart without a song to call his own is quite too sad... i wonder how it feels like to be a mockingbird... singing songs that will never be your own... great offering Ginny... it suits to the art you've chosen... smiles...
ReplyDeleteReally great poem, i like the way you see the song, really works well on a lot of levels. A lesson in life
ReplyDeleteoh heck...no song to call his own.. makes me sad...that's what seeking for perfection does..we hear all those fantastic musicians and suddenly our own attempts seem so small.. a felt piece.. really i think it was much easier before CD's and YouTube and everything..now you have me ranting..ha...smiles...see, your piece made me think...
ReplyDelete...and it's also not about imitating others..learning from them, yes..but then...with shaking knees find our own way...true for all kind of arts me thinks...
ReplyDeletethat would be so sad to lose ones voice or have no voice to call ones own...while mimckery is great flattery what then do you have to say when you stand on your own...
ReplyDeleteWritten on common knowledge of our northeast mockingbirds. It makes for good metaphor, good storyline. Just an FYI (as I know you're a teacher-- In reality, they really do have a song of their own, captured here:
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-mOsezFIgw
Hi Ginny!
ReplyDeleteignoring just one basic truth:
relegating to this choice
deterred the chance to find his voice.
The art and words complemented each other - your voice sings here!
Something lost in the exchange, eh? A costly bargain. Nice
ReplyDeleteHave learned that the older the male mocking bird, the longer the song. And that impresses the females. So perhaps what he loses in individuality, he gains in other ways!
DeleteLovely rhyming voice, a perfect rhythm and a good punch line ;-) great
ReplyDeleteSO IT IS!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe of acrostic poets.
Just today I happened to think that I should try: couldn't do it.
Also like some of your rhyming combinations, like 'star' and 'repertoire'
A rhyming acrostic - poet awe :-)
ReplyDeleteToo many of us spend so much time trying to be someone we aren't instead of finding our own voices and singing our own song. It's sad, really.
Hmmm, the moral is that none of us should be mocking birds, eh? We each need to find our own voice, our own song. The first four lines were my favorite.
ReplyDeleteIliad Keys
i heard a program on the radio where they said that birds sing a different tune if they are alone or in a group. they were singing more complex tunes in groups of four or more. i dont remember what kind of bird they were listening to as galahs come in large flocks so can't get very complex calls to match surely. this bbc article might be of interest
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18766653