Thursday, August 9, 2007

Poetry Thursday


Cardinal

This morning
a cardinal perched at the window
cocking its head to look at me
looking.

I suppose you could say
his presence was a sign
his red boldness hiding a fortune
Or perhaps it is less than extraordinary
a common action, not nearly worth all this trouble.

Pay attention to this poem.
It is not about a bird,
but the way you look at the morning without looking into it,
as if it weren’t the most fascinating thing,
as if you see it everyday
a moment so full of possibility and miracle,
miraculous enough
that once
the thought of a bold red cardinal must have seemed absurd.

And yet. There must be million of moments in a mind.
How could you ever remember a brief encounter with one morning?
or a single line of a poem?

10 comments:

paisley said...

and i am ever so guilty of looking but not seeing... good admonition...

Crafty Green Poet said...

I love what you can see when you look, though I find it more difficult first thing in the morning because I'm not fully awake. However hard I look though I'll never see a cardinal round here!

Anonymous said...

No cardinals her but you made that come alive for me in your poem.

carole said...

I like the way this poem turned on me the reader. Yes, I've been guilty of looking without seeing. I live in the English countryside within a few miles of the sea.Yesterday, I took a walk with a friend and really looked at the hedgerows.

Constance Brewer said...

talk about staring into the abyss. :) Very thoughtful poem

Pauline said...

I like the way this flows from short lines and surface thoughts to the long and deep.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes. Just lovely, and an always needed reminder. Thank you for sharing this with us!
-tgr

Anonymous said...

beautiful, thoughtful and interesting.

S.L. Corsua said...

From a single image, the piece segues to the straightforward latter half -- a candid interaction with the reader which effectively skewers the point home.

By the way, I've also read "God and the Catfish" -- impressive imagery... I loved it (plus the wee bit snarky tone *grin*)!!

Cheers.

Peter Bryenton said...

Quick camera reflexes must have captured this moment.