Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Boss-of-my-Garden
The Boss-of-my-Garden
The blackbird Boss-of-my-Garden is gone
A thief came in the night
and not knowing, I strolled out into my morning garden
the dew already burnt off the grass
and there he was
his corpse bloodied
his death by cat torture revealed
flies already settling by his yellow beak
his glossy black feathers
spat out around the lawn.
And nearby two other bodies
I check the nest and it is empty,
up-ended and now I see it all
the cat, the nest and his desperation
to defend his chicks
ended here.
No more to perch
on my little crab apple tree,
head cocked, worm in beak
ready to dive into the ivy, to the hidden nest.
Or to jump into the bird bath
fluttering his wings, his ablutions a daily ritual.
Or, as I once saw, to chase
the wood pigeon three times his size,
from his tiny lawn territory.
Your brown mate pecks around,
round and round she goes, without purpose
not knowing what else to do, where to go.
You are gone, gone, gone
and my garden feels your absence
and mourns.
AM
May 30th 2009
The blackbird Boss-of-my-Garden is gone
A thief came in the night
and not knowing, I strolled out into my morning garden
the dew already burnt off the grass
and there he was
his corpse bloodied
his death by cat torture revealed
flies already settling by his yellow beak
his glossy black feathers
spat out around the lawn.
And nearby two other bodies
I check the nest and it is empty,
up-ended and now I see it all
the cat, the nest and his desperation
to defend his chicks
ended here.
No more to perch
on my little crab apple tree,
head cocked, worm in beak
ready to dive into the ivy, to the hidden nest.
Or to jump into the bird bath
fluttering his wings, his ablutions a daily ritual.
Or, as I once saw, to chase
the wood pigeon three times his size,
from his tiny lawn territory.
Your brown mate pecks around,
round and round she goes, without purpose
not knowing what else to do, where to go.
You are gone, gone, gone
and my garden feels your absence
and mourns.
AM
May 30th 2009
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Oh, sad. A lovely poem.
I don't really like cats. This makes me really dislike them. The same thing happened a few weeks ago to a nest on my fence, though the parents survived. I know cats are just doing what they are on the earth to do, but it doesn't mean I have to like them doing it. Poor things.
Sorry SB. You're not having a good week. -
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Permalink Reply by Sapphireblue on
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Thanks Alison.. appreciate your kind remarks....yeh not the best of weeks.
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Permalink Reply by Danzigger on
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That's very sad, and very beautiful. Did you write that?
I'm sorry about your blackbird.
Alison, you don't have to like cats for doing what they do, but remember that blackbirds are killers too. -
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What do you mean? they only kill worms don't they? Yes i wrote that, I'm also a poet...
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Your poem is lovely. I'll clip a copy of that if you don't mind?
Blackbirds will eat anything they can get their mouths around. Worms, yes, but also frogs, newts, caterpillars etc.
A cat killing a blackbird is no better or worse than a blackbird killing a frog. -
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Sure, I agree with you intellectually...
But birds are a bit special I think, so it does seem different to me. They (especially blackbirds) can be characters in your garden in a way that a frog or a worm just can't, and so you can really notice their absence once they've gone! SB's poem sums that up beautifully I think. -
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Thanks Alison and my sentiments exactly...
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I love to watch the birds, and to get to recognize them and to know them, and I would be as sad as you are, SB.
I only wanted to stick up for the cats: they aren't doing anything wrong or cruel -
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Well I moved here 2 years ago and NO birds came to this garden AT ALL.. that's what I noticed. I joined the RSPB and got a bird table that seems to have defeated (after a number of different sites) the pesky squirrels and have put out fat balls and bird seed and slowly slowly the birds started coming. Now I see blue tits, sparrows, chaffinchs all the time(and bloody pigeons of course). Was really excited when the blackbird pair came to my garden and he got very territorial and then eventually I noticed he(and she) kept diving into the thick ivy with a worms all the time. I didn't dare to look for the nest but knew it was there... so what happened was very traumatic - the chicks were big, on the brink of flying.....
I don't mind cats but rather have the birds... there's too many local cats - at least 3 visit my garden. I discourage them, so the birds have a reasonably safe environment.... but you can't stop them completely... -
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Yes you can print a copy if you like. Its a jungle out there eh?
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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SB, a fine poem. Should we look forward to a Blakean
'O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.'?
Whatever Blake meant, I hope you've got Glyn onto that invisible worm by now. -
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Love any Blake but who's Glyn?
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