Cathartes Aura
Walking to my car
on a warm afternoon
up on the high hillside lot
close to the cliff drop,
I see rising beneath me
the bird,
wings spreading six feet,
head naked and red as blood,
white beak hooking invisible winds
to fill the creamy hollow of under-feather,
lifting on thermals
before my eyes,
when two small blackbirds
dive from unseen heights
and viciously caw as they peck
the black back.
Top guns, fighter aces;
these lords of the open sky
sharply turn as the heavy buzzard wheels
through dark pines.
I clutch my keys
and stay to watch the fight.
I want to see how, with curling feathers
and piercing rage
these small beasts
protect their living nest.
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Ignored. (a Seagull Story)
Ignored. (A seagull story)
At the seaside restaurant it was busy everyone was eating lobsters,
I tried to catch the waiters’ eye. I was ignored and got the feeling
that I was Invisible, or that I was so small that my head didn’t reached
over the table. A seagull landed on my table a beautiful bird,
yellow beak and feet, plumage snowy white its wings light grey/blue
and its eyes were green; it also had the aroma of the Atlantic Ocean.
Waiter came, looked at the bird asked what it wanted, lobster, I said
when the dish came I gave it to the bird. Got up, left and no one tried
to stop me.
poem by Oskar Hansen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Black Bird...
it was her black bird
first that saw and i never stopped thinking since then
figuring what is the meaning of having
those black wings
flying
and to where is this direction heading?
from my mouth is borne the
blackbird bearing my own name
at the tip of its
beak
and it is flying now too low to touch
the needles of the pines
do you not see that it is tired
and wants to hover on one of those twigs?
how can you relate to blackbirds?
they grown from our throats and comes out
from our lips
and they keep on flying
wishing you can keep it flying still
higher and higher
until you finally give up
and tell the truth
about its
flesh and bones
until you remove all its black feathers
and burn all them
for the gods to smell.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Flight Of a Bird
Wings stretched, eyes wide
As the nest wobbles side to side
The small bird sits on it's edge
His heart racing as he looks off the ledge
A little lumo in his throat keeps his beak tight
And he swallows and takes in the sight
His small heart pounding, his tallons spread
Thoughts racing through his head
He bounces once, twice, his first try
He lands on his back, back in the nest, and lets out a sigh
He gets back on the edge for another try at flight
He watches, determined to fly before night.
He bounces again and rises into the sky
His eyesclenched closed, he gulps, and hopes he won't die.
A little squeak omes from his beack
He flops his wings with fury and he takes a peak
His eyes now wide with joy with pride,
He flies so gracefully, as a human may stirde
Through the endless daylight
He flies like a small childs kite.
His heart slows as he swoops
And he preforms a loppy- loop
Then he sees the light dim and he swoops like a jet,
As he flies into the sunset.
poem by Bethany Maxwell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Poetry: Ode to Eagle
Ode to Eagle
By Laijon Liu 20091010
-O1-
Who are you, my love, soaring so high!
The god of all birds, a king of azure sky
On the precipitous cliff you make home
Off the lofty peak you leap a great dive
You call up the morning sun to ascend
And escort the moon where she roams
Earth revolves under your mighty talons
And heaven is for your wings to mete
-O2-
A pair firm claws, steel dagger sharp
Where your enemies find no escape
Above the vast land or the roaring sea
All livings are under your decree
Your eyes are made of pure gold
To see through the hour of dark night
Who dares to stare at the glorious sun?
And catch the true splendor of light!
-O3-
Upon the high rock you pick your nest
Above the deep sea you set window-view
And facing the cold winds you make love
There you raise young, hatch a brave heart
All worlds look up and envy your spot
But they never know how much you sacrifice
Your title and fame must cost so much
Upon that rocky cliff, in the gushing winds
-O4-
Lonesome and pride is the way of your life
It’s against your deity to group with a flock
No one dares to dictate your hour of flight
And no peak or valley is out of your reach
Toward the sun you stare and rise head on
And into the wintry wave you make a splash
White clouds are for your wings to smash
Rain and snow are your showers and bath
-O5-
Nature has preordained your tragic fate
Struggling since birth, fighting to become
Where your infant bed is a wrestling court
And then your test flight is a deadly dive
Yet you raise your hooked beak proudly
Stretch your broad wings measuring winds
Hop your muscular legs for a great leap
To aim the sun and answer the storm
-O6-
How calm you are, driving the winds above
Rise and fall freely, soar and turn with ease
Where in the sky you find dragon is a myth
And shadow of phoenix disappeared in sun
The idols on earth all become fairytale news
Only your wings and spirit are true examples
Death and fear can never conquer you in life
Dream and desires are all possible to reach
-O7-
Oh my great Bird, a miracle you pursue!
You’re hatched on cliff and born of storm
Sun above you and earth down below
Sky your lodge and death is like a home
In the gushing winds you howl battle cry
Into the cold waves you toy snowflake
Through the challenges you grow strong
And in turmoil and crisis you obtain peace
-O8-
Who is the maker of your striking shape?
Who gifted you a pair golden pupil
For the far vision and detail view?
Who gave you a pair brave wings
To set your faith fly and courage to dive?
Who made your nest on high cliff?
Who drove the winds and storms
And the red sun over the blue sea?
***Who made you, so great? ***
poem by Laijon Liu
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Black Bird That Keeps On Flying
the black bird
keeps on flying
over my head
its wing tips
touch my hair
the black bird
weeps
and my mind
cannot ignore
it
it is seeing you
again
and it does not
know
what to do
with its beak
it wants to kiss you
but your eyes
are angry
it wants to land over
your hair
but they are hard
as wires
the black bird
has no nest for
its eggs
you never mind it
your mind
thinks always of
that white bird
in the sky
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Eggs Of The Blue Bird On The Nest
the blue bird
takes care of its nest
all the white eggs
warm beneath its feathers
all those nights
and even cold days
and then when the eggs hatch
the fledgelings
prematurely spread their wings
fall off from the branch
where the nest hangs
on the following morning
you see the ants feasting on their flesh
ah! the blue bird sings again
readies itself for the rain
it escapes away from its sorrows
and flies away...far, far away
far, far away....
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Daedalus And Icarus
Daedalus says:
Go on sonny but remember that you are walking and not flying
the wings are just an ornament and you are stepping on a meadow
that warm gust is just the humid earth of summer
and that cold one is a brook
the sky is full of leaves and small animals
Icarus says:
The eyes like two stones return straight to earth
and see a farmer who knocks asunder oily till
a grub which wiggles in a furrow
bad grub which cuts the bond of a plant with the earth
Daedalus says:
Sonny this is not true The Cosmos is merely light
and earth is a bowl of shadows Look as here colors play
dust rises from above the sea smoke rises to the sky
of noblest atoms a rainbow sets itself now
Icarus says:
Arms hurt father from this beating at vacuum
legs are getting numb and miss thorns and sharp stones
I cannot keep looking at the sun as you do father
I sunken whole in the dark rays of the earth
Description of the catastrophe:
Now Icarus falls down head first
the last frame of him is a glimpse of a heal childlike small
being swallowed by the devouring sea
Up above the father cries out the name
which no longer belongs to a neck or a head
but only to a remembrance
Commentary:
He was so young did not understand that wings are just a metaphor
a bit of wax and feathers and a contempt for the laws of gravitation
I cannot hold a body at an elevation of a great many feet
The essence of the matter is in having our hearts
which are coursed by heavy blood
fill with air
and this very thing Icarus did not want to accept
let us pray
poem by Zbigniew Herbert
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Suitcases Don't Have Wings
Small bags big bags
Black bags white bags
Suitcases hey hey hey
For work and for play
Crammed full of things
Suitcases dont have wings
White bags black bags
Complete with one-way tags
Dragging us down
Ever closer to the ground
All the time they sing
Suitcases dont have wings
Big bags small bags
That behind us we drag
Past present and future
We cram so much in n' gotcha
We've been forgetting
suitcases dont have wings
All bags every bag
That we painfully drag
Drop them at jesus feet
Cause all ur needs he'll meet
Suitcases hey hey hey
They get in the way
Drop them if you want in
Suitcases dont have wings
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Feathers!
feathers on me
again and again
first to fly and now to earth rest
enable me to get ready
and carried me through you
anywhere there are feathers
like you said!
in me in you!
a very strange and intoxicating feeling
afterwards, that you traced my body
maybe i have gasp, of some lack of air!
in high feather, full feathers
you will be writhing with ecstacy
Very pleasurable for me
I feel extremely good
you make me a path a invisible way
eagle feathers very powerful
sound bird feathers very delicate
for tight places or open places
make his sound so soft
Ah! My God! ! !
give me the name of that medicine!
Feathers on me!
Feathers on you!
poem by Mirna Morgan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Flightless Bird
My world is caged in,
I can not fly away,
I can not soar in the clouds,
With the wind and the angels.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I sit here day in and day out,
I watch so many people coming in and going out,
They stay here so happy so proud,
And they leave again without any care in the world.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I remember each face,
I remember them all saying hi waiting for a reply of hello,
They don’t understand how it feels,
They don’t understand what it’s like.
To be a flightless bird with clipped wings.
Wings tucked and head held high I sit here,
I wear a smile on my face and I keep myself beautiful and happy,
But inside all I can see are the bars that surround me,
I can’t get past them I can only sit.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
My world is a room full of people myself the center of attention,
Although I should not complain for this is my life,
And I make them smile I make the children laugh and look in my eyes,
And sometimes they look into my eyes and see my world through my eyes.
They know I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
They’ll stand and watch me as I walk around in my cage,
They’ll be there with me and try to understand.
Then they’ll have to leave and they’ll look over their shoulders.,
And they look into my eyes one last time,
Before they fly away into the world to bring back stories for the flightless bird with clipped wings,
They are my connection to the world,
They show me what they see through their eyes,
They show me wonders and beauties of a world I’ve never seen,
They are my window to the outside,
In their mind I can be a flightless bird in a world of wonder and of flight.
I am only a small bird in a cage that sits in a hotel,
Sits and watches as the world around me fly’s by,
I wait for the occasional stranger who looks into my eyes with knowing,
Maybe a person who is like me like a flightless bird in a cage,
They are my wings, the wings of a flightless bird who’s wings are clipped.
I sit in my own world and watch as it all moves by,
Day after day I watch and I say what is expected of me,
I sit in my world and I go on my own steady journey,
A journey in which I am a silent observer,
A flightless bird with clipped wings in a world of ever changing skies.
By: Bethany Maxwell
poem by Bethany Maxwell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The Vision quest
Wandering pine,
with rolled rug slung across her back
walked bare foot to feel the rich earth
beneath her feet.
The trees, high pines either side,
shielded the low sun casting shadows
bringing the ancestors.
Breaking through the pines
into crystal blue she laid her rug.
Calling on the four winds
North to prowling Bear
West to snarling Panther
East to breathing Moose
South to follow the doe eyed fawn
she began her vision quest
seated in a circle on the ground.
Cross legged she waited
stilled her mind
drew her quiet breath
and breathed the mountain air
slowly for the longest time.
Then it came.......
The rising...........
The oneness........
The wholeness.....
and The knowing
spreading through her
like the four winds.
There she stayed......
until the morning of the fourth day
when she rose quietly, rolled her rug
and descended through the pines;
with the rich earth beneath her feet
and the sound of running water at her side.
poem by Diana Rosser
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
First Flight
The young bird hops,
into my open garage.
Head hunched
it studies the veined floor
like a map; lost traveler
cast low from
wooded heights,
and lifts to its mother
a raspy cry.
Too early from the nest
fearful of the sky,
unsure of tender wings,
not able to fly,
it’s helpless.
I want to hold it,
feel its heart
tremble in my gentle hands
return it
to shredded nest,
or,
like a prayer,
cast it high to heaven
and watch it fly
or fall,
but I do nothing.
when echoing its mother’s call
the youngster stumbles out the door
and into the still street -
Breathless,
I watch mother bird
diving near
as the fledgling
rises
into familiar air.
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Vulture
I had walked since dawn and lay down to rest on a bare hillside
Above the ocean. I saw through half-shut eyelids a vulture wheeling
high up in heaven,
And presently it passed again, but lower and nearer, its orbit
narrowing,
I understood then
That I was under inspection. I lay death-still and heard the flight-
feathers
Whistle above me and make their circle and come nearer.
I could see the naked red head between the great wings
Bear downward staring. I said, 'My dear bird, we are wasting time
here.
These old bones will still work; they are not for you.' But how
beautiful
he looked, gliding down
On those great sails; how beautiful he looked, veering away in the
sea-light
over the precipice. I tell you solemnly
That I was sorry to have disappointed him. To be eaten by that beak
and
become part of him, to share those wings and those eyes--
What a sublime end of one's body, what an enskyment; what a life
after death.
poem by Robinson Jeffers
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Strange Bird
Strange bird
By: jimmy buffett, jay oliver
1989
Half fast and seldom seen
He dont blip the radar screen
On the deck below the dune
Under the commanders moon
Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all of the rest
God only knows where the strange bird goes when hes flying
Everybodys trying to find him
But they dont know where to start
The ornithologist lady says that he has wings on his heart
Chorus:
Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all of the rest
If you cant catch him you cant name him
If you cant see him you cant claim him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, hes a strange bird
Frequent flyer, seldom seen
High above the caribbean
In my day Ive met a few but hes the strangest bird thats true
Chorus:
Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all of the rest
If you cant catch him you cant name him
If you cant see him you cant claim him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, hes a strange bird
But hes in love with the lady of the waters
And she lives somewhere up around cheauxvan
Hes gonna circle high above her runway of love
Until she gives him her permission to land
Chorus:
Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all of the rest
If you cant catch him you cant name him
If you cant see him you cant claim him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, hes a strange bird
Watch out girl, hes a strange bird
Strange bird flying low
cross the gulf of mexico
Strange bird not like all the rest
Watch out girl hes a strange bird
Shoot you down, hes a strange bird
Its a bird, its a plane, its a strange bird
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Black Mirror
Black Vs White
White Vs black
the mirror is against me
Or am i against the mirror?
we ARE the black Vs white
we are the dawn, battling the night
we are the stars in the evening sky
and we are the blood spilled in the hollow, dark night
we are brother and sister
Relatives yet foes
we will destroy each other
for you can't have one without the other
you look at me
i know your story
we will each scream in pain
and scream for glory
and watching the blood spill down your skin
i clutch your hand as the light dims
in killing you
i have killed myself
we are each others own personal black mirror
and as we fall down to the grave
i look at you as you try to pray
we may both die
but i have won
for the dark always covers the sun.
and as you cry while i clutch your hand
i whisper in your ear, so only you may hear
Dear brother, brother of mine
you are my black mirror
and now it is time.
poem by Kiele Kane
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Little White Bird
little white bird
now that i have set you free
from my hands
to the winds you shall go
to its whims shall you be
search the skies
map out your freedom
be carefree
little bird
do not look back
i am in the prison walls of my mind
still thinking about your white wings
feeling each feather
in every patch of my skin
little bird, little white bird
how pure was that love?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Like A Bird I Will Let You Stay In My Nest
like a bird i will let you stay in my nest
because i need you to need me on these dark nights
i will fold my wings and you will be inside them
you will be warm and you will soundly sleep
i will keep watch and i will maintain this silence
this comfort with the moon beside
but soon when your wings and claws are again strong
you must leave and learn to fly alone
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Lullaby of the iroquois
Little brown baby-bird, lapped in your nest,
Wrapped in your nest,
Strapped in your nest,
Your straight little cradle-board rocks you to rest;
Its hands are your nest;
Its bands are your nest;
It swings from the down-bending branch of the oak;
You watch the camp flame, and the curling grey smoke;
But, oh, for your pretty black eyes sleep is best,--
Little brown baby of mine, go to rest.
Little brown baby-bird swinging to sleep,
Winging to sleep,
Singing to sleep,
Your wonder-black eyes that so wide open keep,
Shielding their sleep,
Unyielding to sleep,
The heron is homing, the plover is still,
The night-owl calls from his haunt on the hill,
Afar the fox barks, afar the stars peep,--
Little brown baby of mine, go to sleep.
poem by Emily Pauline Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Holy Mountain
From this small mountain
folded valleys glide
to shining waters.
Flowing like quicksilver,
dark rivers run free
to the sun-drenched sea.
This is my holy mountain.
I seek your gentle voice
where the small birds rest
on thin branches.
See how their breath
arouses the storm?
Fluttering wings
can make shudder the world,
to passion stir vast
twisting winds.
Though I am small
and dying,
make of me
a pillar of fire,
and I’ll descend from these heights
to flood the dark valleys
with your living light.
poem by Steven Federle
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Kingfisher On A Dead Tree
on a glass pond
a dead tree stands
perched is a kingfisher
on one of its weak twigs
i sit alone on a
rock thinking about nothing
i must have been lost
this day
blue wings and some
white feathers on the neck
black sharp beak
the kingfisher looks at me
a leaf falls on the glass pond
the eyes of the kingfisher
and my eyes ride on the ripple
like small paper boats
going nowhere
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!