Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

March 2024 SOLC–Day 4
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Yesterday was dreary in a dazzling sort of way. We ventured outside to enjoy the day and were amply rewarded for doing so. In fact, during our wanderings we spotted at least 21!!! bald eagles! It was tough to keep count.

Ten Ways of Looking at a Grey Winter Day
after “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens

You,
me,
alone together
on rain drenched paths.
Puddles
offer up reflections
to the sky.
Wings lift and shift.
A convocation
of eagles gathers
at the water’s edge.
Suffused with mist and
the keening of geese,
the air hums.
An old orchard,
overgrown.
Winter stark and
free of apples,
ripe with echoes
of laughter.
Between the thorns,
globes of water balance
along blackberry canes.

Within each sphere
a world
encapsulated.
The yellow glow
of winter grass
warm beneath
the bare trees.
Blueberry barrens–
a gentle red glow,
sweetens the grey.
Negative space.
Silence where frogs sing.
Ice in the marshes.
When the wind blew,
it shook raindrops free
and filled the wings
of a hawk.