Is, Was Or Ever Could Be

The bluebird carries the sky on his back. - Thoreau

never a pretentious pretender

never a borrower, always a lender

over a hardwood floor of late winter scarcity littered with fallen remnants of crusted snow

a blue jay visited this morning just outside my window

perched 'pon a large branch which had grown into a bent, aching knee

me in my lonely chair amidst spindles of doldrums and despair

it must have come for me

blinding my eyes to see

turning a pearly gate's rusty key

'tis the only possible explanation there

is, was or ever could be

 

Author's Note

"A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I love the first bluebirds of Spring. We had some build a nest in our birdhouse and my little girl named them Blue and Violet (smile) I enjoyed your poem. But your picture isn't of a bluebird. That is a Blue jay or jaybird as we sometimes call them. They always show up at my feeder for the peanuts I put out for the squirrels. They're notorious bullies and robbers but I don't mind feeding them at all, even if their song is more akin to a crow's caw than the chittering sweet song of the bluebird. Keep writing the wonderful poetry. F.

[Pete]

that's cute about your daughter. i didn't realize that i had typed "bluebird" and have changed it. it was definitely a blue jay because the "hairdo" is unmistakable. birds as well as all of nature fascinate me. that morning visit made my day. thanks for sharing fabian ... :)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I have heard Blue jays this morning already. Their call is like a high pitched taxi horn. Beep beep beep. I need to take them some peanuts and the other birds some sunflower seed before it starts raining. I'm an avid birdwatcher and I love to sketch them too. I'm no JJ Audubon but I have fun with it.

[Pete]

just thought i'd tell you that the blue jay just visited me again this morning landing in the small tree just outside my window and he looked right in at me curiously. what a beautiful bird with that hairdo. i wonder if it's the same one as before. at my other place where i lived 4 miles from where i am now an owl visited - what a majestic creature owls are ... :)

[Coyote Poetry]

I heard the birds song this morning in my yard. Maybe Spring is near. A lovely poem shared Pete. I need a warm day. Thank you for sharing the amazing poetry and your thoughts.
Coyote

[Pete]

thanks coyote. I think spring has sprung. seeing that jaybird made my day and was the usher of a new season for me ... :)

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome Pete.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I live on Blue Jay lane, but have visits from both Jays and Bluebirds, both are so pretty.
Nature makes me glad to be alive.
such an interesting poem here, Pete.
Thoreau would have liked it.

[Pete]

lucky you. oh precious nature. i don't see many bluebirds but an occasional blue jay around here. street names always interest me - oak, elm, sycamore, chestnut, river etc. - named for what is or was around there. such a visit can be all it takes to make our day. thanks j. ... :)

[Pete]

... and they bring us so much more than they take ... :)

[John the Baptist]

The best thing about bluebirds is they don't say "Nevermore."

[Pete]

thanks j. the b. sure would be interesting to know what they really are saying - after all, as told in the bible, balaam's donkey spoke ... :)

[Kelly Scheppers]

Such an extraordinary poem. A most profound lament to a bluebird I shall never read again. And what a punchline you delivered as a closing!!! Pete, this one's golden. Hang a star on it!

[Pete]

all true, can't make this stuff up. as i commented to ww earlier - sometimes that's all it takes to make our day. thanks so much kell ... :)

[Kelly Scheppers]

Hey, I saw a robing this morning! Almost dropped my coffee!

[Kelly Scheppers]

That's a beautiful quote by Thoreau too, I forgot to mention. Was that the inspiration you drew from?

[Pete]

thanks. seeing it first thing this morning when I looked out the window was the inspiration and the the thoreau quote was the icing on the cake ... :)

[Pete]

one time I saw a big owl - talk about majestic! it's hoots echoed through the woods and the way its head goes almost all the way around! ... :)

[willweb]

I really liked that Pete. As if just sitting here viewing a painting your words created art for me.

[Pete]

thanks ww. first thing i saw this morning when i looked out. sometimes that's all it takes to make someone's day! ... :)