The evening speaks

It is all about perspective,
I guess. The bird’s voice hits
off the angles and soffits

between these houses, and
I can imagine him to be anywhere.
Spring-bud knees straightening,

offering every inch of song
he has curled up in his lungs.
The sun scoots behind the neighbor’s

house like a child hiding
from a stranger who has just entered
his home. The last rays are still

clinging to the roof like
fingertips holding the body,
from sinking too far.

Dear bird, little invisible,
voice that magnifies you, and
denies smallness, please

do not stop singing.

Author's Note

2018

Reviews

[CD Campbell]

This can be read as one wonderful descriptive moment in time. As long as the bird sings, it can be enjoyed forever. But the sun hiding like a scared child, the light grasping at the edges before sinking into the dark, betrays the happiness of the poem and of the song of the bird. Maybe there is something unnerving about the oncoming silence of night. It is usually the loneliest time of the day.
Idk. Think you're right, though. It's all about perspective. Haha. I do like what you've written so far. CD

[Eilis]

Thanks, CD. I’m still trying to decide if the intrusion of the ‘I guess’ thought in the poem is too much. I like what you see. It helps me to see how to approach revision.

Appreciate you stopping by.

[CD Campbell]

Np. Trying to get back to the swing of things.

[Eilis]

Me too. Look forward to reading more of your poems.

[olla]

damn woman.. another stunner..

Dear bird, little invisible,
voice that magnifies you, and
denies smallness, please

do not stop singing.

my heart breaks..

[Eilis]

Thanks, olla. Funny thing about this poem is I almost discarded it thinking it wasn’t very good. I have been pleasantly surprised that people have liked it.

Thanks for your visits today. I really appreciate you reading.

[Nusquam Esse]

Somehow this one brings me impressions of the Odes of Neruda, such as his Ode to a Violin in California. Perhaps in the way you animate the organic, the way that you encapsulate a setting into a moment where all breathes as one?

[Eilis]

I will have to look that poem up, Nusquam Esse. I haven’t read Neruda in many years and I’m not sure I’ve read that poem at all. Thanks for reading.

[Mrudula Rani]

An etching of dusk. There is no disconsolation in the poem. You composedly paint the events of evening and let it speak to your readers and let them pick their own mood. That is an exceptional writing, Eilis. Your plea .." Dear bird, little invisible voice that magnifies you, and denies smallness, please do not stop singing". is heart warming. The setting sun owns melancholic spell, sometimes it weighs a ton on a soul.

[Eilis]

Hi, Mrudula. Your reviews are always lovely to receive. I enjoy your insights and engaged comments. Thanks so much for stopping by.

[Mrudula Rani]

It's entirely my pleasure. Tudo de bom para te ( all the best ) .

[barleygirl]

The best thing about this poem is how you use unexpected & dynamic verbs ("curled up in his lungs" . . . "sun scoots"). The next thing I love best are your similes ("like a child hiding" . . . "like fingertips holding"). You really know how to make a lively scene come even more alive! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Eilis]

Hi, Margie. Thank you for those kind comments. I’m glad you enjoyed this poem.

((Return Hugs))

Thanks for stopping by

[Vin]

Beautiful!!This feels like a breeze

[Eilis]

Thank you, Vin.

[Wondering Mind]

A lovely ending plea to a beautiful write.

[Eilis]

Thanks very much, WM.

[gram linski]

Keep singing little bird, what a great way to unwind after a hard day, just chilling listening to the evening speak

[Eilis]

I have a small obsession with birds, haha. Disappearing into their world can be a reprieve/ way toward forgetting whatever else.

Thanks again for stopping by, Gram. I appreciate all of your comments.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

What a beautiful rendition of evening and birdsong. you so capture it in a very well constructed and descriptive verse.

[Eilis]

Hi, John. Thank you. I appreciate your visit.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

okay here is where you took me with this, Eilis...
first of all I can picture the little bird between houses, i can't see him but i hear him and search for where the song is coming from.....please keep singing so that i can find you.
But...on an allegorical level....i see the voice coming from a shy poet ...hearing the voice anonymously...not knowing exactly from whom it shines...but the voice is worth looking into, the poet worth finding...
the song or the poem both worth the effort.
j.

[Eilis]

Hi, j. Thank you so much for the thoughtful review. I really enjoy where the poem took you and I’m thankful that you shared those ideas. I like your interpretation very much. Of course, there’s truth to that as well.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

[Ted Kniffen]

Birds, the eternal optimists singing from the trees...bouncing notes off the soffits. They seem not unlike that youngster walking down the street singing out loud. Around my place they start singing around daybreak and at dusk the cardinals arrive looking for a handout.

A good write indeed, Eilis, glad I stopped by.

[Eilis]

Hi, Ted. Thanks for the lovely review. I have a dawn chorus outside my windows as well. And a whole mess of cardinals that come around throughout the day. I find the presence of birds to be a great source of joy.

Thanks for stopping by.