Frailty Of All Creatures
When I was a young driver,
Fresh behind the wheel,
I saw a bird fly beneath a driver’s car
Ahead of me.
Her wings were broken
And her body badly damaged.
She flapped without hope
On the hot July street.
When I approached her,
I ran her over;
I cannot be sure
Accidentally or purposely.
I began to cry
And pray to St. Francis,
Poor little bird!
But I thought,
Does God see
The lonely pain of a bird
And the frailty of all creatures?
At that moment,
I became resolved
Every poem I wrote
Would be a prayer
For compassion.
So now, even if I write
About a gorgeous sunset
Or the enchantment of a woman’s eyes,
It really is a prayer for love and mercy
poem by Uriah Hamilton
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Bird's Wish
The bird asks me
What I’d do
If I am a bird.
I tell him
High and high I’d soar
So high that I’d see the earth no more
I’d be a bird on the tree
I’d be a bird that’s free!
What you’d do bird
If you’re a man?
To be fair
It’d be my only prayer to God
Don’t be so hard
Make me once again a bird!
Saying this the bird sings
And spreads its wings to a sky
I can never fly!
poem by Pradip Chattopadhyay
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Bird-Magic
Where no birds breathe, bird-magic breathes
Bird-beauty, bird-spirit, bird-splendour,
And brings where no bird wings,
Wing-beats that woo me to wonder.
What do I want when a woman can warm
Bird-magic from her bosom, her womanly arms?
Her lips that are petals, her thighs that are trees,
Boughful with blossoms of softness and ease?
What is the liquid that lingers with love
In her voice? Is the music that hangs in her eyes?
The dewdrop.that dangles from finger-tip touch?
The mellifluous magic that moves me so much?
This is no bird-magic:
This is woman, who with a sweep of her hair
Sends birds bursting to wings in the air.
This is woman, whose frown
Droops dark feathers down.
This is woman; her smile, her kiss, her holding in arms,
Hold more bliss for me than bird-charms.
poem by Tan Pratonix
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Farewell Little Bird
Little bird,
why are you so lonely?
Did you not like your home
that I have prepared for you?
Look! it's made of gold!
Can't you see?
I have given you
the nicest place to live
because
you are so dear to me.
Little bird
please sing me a song,
the one
that I have heard from you
the day I saw you in the forest
before I made you mine.
Little bird,
why are you still lonely?
Is my heart for you
not enough?
Do you really want your life
back in the forest? ....
Little bird,
there you are!
now, spread your wings
I'm setting you free.....
Little bird,
I'd rather let you go
and see your happiness,
than keep you beside me
and see your loneliness.
Farewell little bird.
I wish
to hear your song again
......in the forest.
poem by Marites C. Cayetano
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Setting Free The Little Black Bird...
and this i remember
when i was yet a young boy
in a far away village
i caught a black bird
in my handmade trap
and it was trying to
escape from the hold of
my hands,
at first i liked to bring it home
and show to father
but then i looked at its eyes
begging for mercy to be
set free
and i heeded to its flee
i released that little black bird free
x x x x
it is the same now between me and my body
this trap and this soul that begs now to be set free
this little black bird begging for mercy
it shall be set free
that young boy understands
it is this body.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Bird on the Road
I watched as a baby bird fell from a tree,
Trying to flap its youthful wings,
So that it may fly so elegantly.
Perhaps like his soaring father
Or perhaps like his gliding mother
Or perhaps just to feel
The wind coursing
In between his new
Feathers.
The bird landed on an empty street on the other side
Of the library parking lot where I was.
I watched it stumble up, struggling
To stand on its barely-born feet.
I heard it chirping—as if to call
For someone someplace, distant,
Someone who had left it
Not so long ago
On the road.
The bird's naïve and innocent song fell silent,
For only resting notes wrung from the branches.
There was no response to the aching plea
Of the sweetly-timbered sonata
Softly resonating from the bird's
Deflating tuft of a chest.
No choir or counter-point
Chorused to harmonize
With its tune.
I looked upon the bird. It appeared so helpless to me
And I felt that I should maybe save it
If I were not so reserved to simply watch.
I do not know how to care for birds,
Only to believe that safety should come.
I gave my sympathy and my audience.
Something intangible told me
To leave its fate
In nature's hands.
As I pondered about the bird's chances for survival,
A bright red sports car plummeted down the road—
Speeding past in a blur on the isolated street.
Its rubber tires rubbed against the pavement,
Squashing the poor baby bird,
Flattening it into a single, red stroke
Painted and imprinted
Into the rough grooves covering
The rocky canvas.
I realized that even if I would have risen to assist
The lonely and wounded bird, I would have done nothing,
But perhaps injure myself in the process.
Yet, I was drained and depressed to see the bird vanish
Because there was no hope for it. It was forgotten
By ev'ryone and ev'rything except for me.
The driver did not seem to care;
The world did not seem to care,
But I did...
Though I did nothing.
poem by Tim Stensloff
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Birds Nest
Have you not seen the bird
flying far, again and again
collecting straws to weave a nest-
a home- for its young ones to be.
As eggs are hatched
out come the young
chirping or crying, to be fed,
the bird flies again, and again
collecting grains
to feed the young
who cannot fly
It chews the grain but does not swallow
beak to beak it feeds young fellow
caressingly and lovingly
so all are fed properly.
Young get wings, by and by:
and coaxed by the mother bird;
attempt to fly.
Then suddenly one day
the young one flies far away
It knows not where: and
The nest gets barren,
Lonely...
The bird DOES NOT GRIEVE
OR DOES IT
We humans, we do not know.
Like A Bird
Chorus:
I would do anything if I could fly
Escape into the sky
Im feeling like a bird
I would do anything if I could see
The world in harmony
Im feeling like a bird
Chorus b:
Im feeling like a bird
I spread my wings and fly away
Im feeling like a bird
I close my eyes my dreams come true for one day
Vers 1:
In these days,
Dont know whats right or wrong
The world has gone to far
I found a little something to hold on
And then I see a rainbow shining through the clouds
See the birds are flying, they are free no doubt
And imagine its me, imagine its me
I wish I would have wings
Vers 2:
Tell me why, this circle never ends
When will we ever learn
All the cultures in this world come to one sense
But then I see the children playing in the street
Will they have a future, and enough to eat
And I close my eyes, I close my eyes
I hope my dreams comes true
Mid-part:
Free, free like a bird
What is this world without love
Free, free like a bird
From high above
song performed by by DJ Bobo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our Bird In Your Cage
we have this bird
we both own it and love it and care for it
our bird
and you have this cage
that you only own
golden, new and strong and as you say it
so reliable
that when our bird is in that cage
it will be safe
and cannot escape
we feed this bird together
and give it water and birdseeds
and a place of twigs and swing
where the bird can play
and perch upon
like it is on a tree
days and years
we keep this bird in your cage
and we see it is dying
and wanting to be free
yet you say, this sickness is just temporary
time heals what has wounded it
and shall forget the power of its wings
days and more years
we keep this bird in your cage
and i have not listened at all
to the sad song of that bird
her waning chirps
her weakened wings
her way of losing hold to the dreams of its wings
today we see this bird is dead
but you have no sadness at all
you say, you will buy another bird
again to be kept in your cage
i could have told you
i am the bird in your cage and i too have forgotten the power of
my wings
i could have told you, i have long died
and have forgotten what freedom is, what love is, what i am
in the first place. How can i ever tell you?
you are my cage.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ritual
Pray the prayer that is the essence
of every ritual;
GOD
“I have no hope, I am torn to shreds.
You are my first, last and only refuge.”
Don’t pray daily prayers like a bird,
pecking its head up and down.
Indeed, prayer is an egg.
Hatch out all helplessness inside.
(Inspired by the brilliance of Rumi)
ROTMS
poem by Ray Lucero
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A Poem Of Syntax
A poet and his bird, his dog, his cat and his tree
A poet and the bird in the tree
A poet and his dog in the tree
A poet and his dog in the tree and the wind and the cloud
The bird in the tree, the dog in the tree, the cat in the tree,
The bird in the tree, the dog on the tree, the cat under the tree,
The bird on the tree, the bird in a tree, a bird in a tree, a bird in the tree,
And the wind and the cloud and the poet and his dog and his cat and the tree
The dog chases the cat the cat chases the bird
And they all arrive in that tree
Where the poet is sitting under that tree
The poet takes the dog and the cat was envious
And the bird looks at them in silence
The silence looks at the poet in the eye
Of the cat and the bird flies away
The poet and the dog is the poem of friendship
The cat and the dog is the poem of the endless natural quarrels
And the bird that flies away against the cat and the dog and the poet and the tree
And flies against the wind that the bird is now fighting
And the clouds that seem so blue and blue
The bird that actually flies away
Is actually me
I was not the poet with the dog
I am not the tree I am not the wind I am not the cloud I am not the poet there who had a dog as friend and I was not the quarrelsome thing from the blue and out of the blue
I am the bird with wings and I always fly away to places
Against the wind to places where I can be as always be the bird with wings in silence
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ay De Mi
O bird, that used to press,
Thy head against my cheek
With touch that seem'd to speak,
And ask a tender 'yes' -
Ay de mi, my bird:
Ay de mi, my bird, my bird -
Ay de mi, my bird.
O tender downy breast,
And warmly beating heart,
That beating seem'd a part
Of me who gave it rest -
Ay de mi, my bird:
Ay de mi, my bird, my bird -
Ay de mi, my bird.
poem by George Eliot
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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To a Sleeping Child
Lips, lips, open!
Up comes a little bird that lives inside
Up comes a little bird, and peeps, and out he flies.
All the day he sits inside, and sometimes he sings,
Up he comes, and out he goes at night to spread his wings.
Little bird, little bird, whither will you go?
Round about the world, while nobody can know.
Little bird, little bird, whither do you flee?
Far away around the world, while nobody can see.
Little bird, little bird, how long will you roam?
All round the world and around again home;
Round the round world, and back through the air,
When the morning comes, the little bird is there.
Back comes the little bird and looks and in he flies,
Up wakes the little boy, and opens both his eyes.
Sleep, sleep, little boy, little bird’s away,
Little bird will come again, by the peep of day;
Sleep, little boy, the little bird must go
Round about the world, while nobody can know.
Sleep, sleep sound, little bird goes round,
Round and round he goes; sleep, sleep sound.
poem by Arthur Hugh Clough
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Caged
People began bidding for a confined bird on a ledge
A poor bird in a iron cage.
No one knows this birds age.
It was the pleasing color of sage.
The sea was in a constant rage.
Everyone was afraid of standing near the outside stage.
The bird went to the highest bidder for a high price.
The auctionor asked him what he was going to do with the bird?
The owner of the bird set it free.
So it could fly from tree to tree.
The bird said thank you by singing its wild glee.
This reminds me of how God can set a mans souls free.
Thank you God for setting my soul free.
Device Of The Bird
Then the device of the bird grew,
Into a hugeness of some degree.
The weapon was immense and like a flying one,
The wings of a cherished bird grew.
This demand from the open air
Was a fountain to bring to the community.
I licked from it holiness and godliness
To make main spirits stay away,
So that gods dispersed and left me in collision
With the bird of action and prayer.
poem by Naveed Akram
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What Now Little Bird?
what now little bird?
you look around you
the nest is empty
and mother bird is far away
and siblings
have taken the first jump
to the pond
to learn to float
and then
fly
you think that mother-bird
comes back
to feed you with another worm?
no, little bird
no one is coming back for you
you do not even
know if you have a father-bird
to save you
no, little bird
do not wait
do not waste your time
the sun shines
and it is time
for you to go too
fly now
little bird
find the real meaning of your wings....
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Mystic And The Realist
in his poem 'To the Cuckoo' Wordsworth described the bird as a mysterious thing
As if a bird's voice without a bird out of nowhere did sing
As he told he searched for the bird on bush and sky and tree
And yet that voice to him remained as a great mystery.
John Clare the poet from Helpston where he lived when he was young
Once got so close to the cuckoo that he even see her tongue
A leading student of Nature's ways Nature he did not mystify
He never told of searching for a mysterious bird in bush and tree and sky.
Poor John Clare had a mental illness by life he was given a raw deal
But he did see Nature for what she is he see Nature as real
The birds and animals that lived around him he intimately knew
And to the reality of Nature till death he remained true.
The Mystic and the Realist they see things differently
What was a real bird to one to the other was a mystery
What makes us all interesting is that we are more different even than we realize
And we see the World around us through very different eyes.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Mr. Cab Driver
Mr Cab Driver won't you stop to let me in
Mr Cab Driver don't like my kind of skin
Mr Cab Driver you're never gonna win
Mr Cab Driver won't you stop to pick me up
Mr Cab Driver I might need some help
Mr Cab Driver only thinks about himself
Here we go
Mr Cab Driver
song performed by by Lenny Kravitz from Let Love Rule
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Can't You See...
you look lost and forlorn,
spend too much time on your own.
Tell me are you hurt,
look like a wounded bird.
who has clipped your wings,
why you always hum and sing...
Go for fresh air
Or say a prayer...
Well, I know you feel my pain
I don't know how to explain...
Can't you see,
You live with me
well if you must know,
where ever I go.
Can't get rid of me,
Am my worst enemy...
poem by Mamta Agarwal
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Shore Leave Ornithology
Slacks, coffee trend
I could have been in the us navy
Flapping grey, coffee smoke
I could have been in another nineteen-fifty
Where the hell were you?
Rough stencil, print music
Cardboard, cardboard, cardboard, cardboard, cardboard coffee
Saxophone mention barbers, n.y.
The cigarette was burning, the flat shoes
Stool
Bongo, coffee, don't mention that black man
The leather-coat was his
Where was she?
Could have been in the us navy
Flow beating air, table-top, shoulder slung
Shore leave, no sailors here
Cardboard, cardboard, cardboard, cardboard
Liquor slacks twisting
The cigarette was burning
The flat shoes, the flat shoes, the flat shoes
Bird, bird, bird, bird
I could have been in another nineteen-fifty
Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird
Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird, bird
I could have been in another nineteen-fifty
Bird, bird, bird
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Tame Bird Was In A Cage
THE tame bird was in a cage, the free bird was in the forest.
They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate.
The free bird cries, 'O my love, let us fly to the wood.'
The cage bird whispers, 'Come hither, let us both live in the cage.'
Says the free bird, 'Among bars, where is there room to spread one's wings?'
'Alas,' cries the caged bird, 'I should not know where to sit perched in the sky.'
The free bird cries, 'My darling, sing the songs of the woodlands.'
The cage bird sings, 'Sit by my side, I'll teach you the speech of the learned.'
The forest bird cries, 'No, ah no! songs can never be taught.'
The cage bird says, 'Alas for me, I know not the songs of the woodlands.'
There love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing to wing.
Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to know each other.
They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, 'Come closer, my love!'
The free bird cries, 'It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of the cage.'
The cage bird whispers, 'Alas, my wings are powerless and dead.'
poem by Rabindranath Tagore
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