Trois oiseaux tristes

Three sad birds, perched atop a chimney-top,

their snow-shade feathers sit still and reflect the moonlight.

Their unmoving, staring eyes -

they're solid, black, awake.

Their slender, beautiful necks are bowed;

their slight beaks are pointed down.

They're chilled, frozen,

watching, grieving.

They sit and watch below,

observe the minors and majors

and their occasional but all-too-present dissonances,

their creeping atonalities.

They watch as their harmony is torn,

humoured, disregarded,

watching it's gilded tail being ripped apart,

contorted, chastised.

A tripartite tear falls unnoticed between the ink,

lost amongst the outward cries of

those who care not for their past,

of their histories, or the histories of others.

 

Three sad birds, perched atop a chimney-top,

they exist silently, a remnant of a time past.

They stay and stay for that day -

when one will gaze up, into the solid, black eyes of

les trois oiseaux tristes.

Reviews

[Beccy]

Yes, I understood that was where the in inspiration sprung from; and for me the third stanza re-inforced the slant and thrust of the poem. As I said, complex, but fascinating.

Beccy.

[Beccy]

Fascinating and very absorbing write. Despite the title, which clued me in a little, I confess, I found it a quite complex, but the clever wordplay was compensation enough.

Beccy.

[Daniel Sutheran]

Thank you for your kind review, Beccy. The title is the French form of "Three sad birds", which is actually a reference to Maurice Ravel's fantastic "Oiseaux tristes", the inspiration behind this piece. I'm glad you enjoyed it.