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caw!
hateful man-thing!
let go of my legs!
let me fly! i need to fly!
you must let me go
for i am king of blackbirds!
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caw! caw!
where am i?
“this be the man-king’s milhaus” said a pretty little blackbird
another squawked “we be the man-king’s dinner!”
“don’t be silly!” cooed the lovely little bird
and next to her i did fly
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caw! caw! caw!
“you must be my queen” said i
“and you my king” said she
and with that we flew up high
into the dark of the rafters
where sweet love we did make
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caw! caw… caww… caaaaw
we watched from the safety of our perch
as four and twenty blackbirds
were smoked into oblivion
so they cared not where they were
and the man-things took them all away
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caw! caw! caw! caw!
come springtime
we had four little blackbirds
with hungry mouths to feed
my queen, a regal mother
and i, her loving king
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this song was found in the comments on another blog ~ LOVE it!
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artwork ~ “Shades of Raven” Denise Broussard
{ fair use ~ image found on google.com }
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this poem was inspired by the prompts and by the song “Blackbirds” by Erin McKeown which references the old nursery rhyme “Sing A Song of Sixpence” ~
- Sing a song of sixpence,
- A pocket full of rye.
- Four and twenty blackbirds,
- Baked in a pie.
- When the pie was opened,
- The birds began to sing;
- Wasn’t that a dainty dish,
- To set before the king?
- The king was in his counting house,
- Counting out his money;
- The queen was in the parlour,
- Eating bread and honey.
- The maid was in the garden,
- Hanging out the clothes;
- When down came a blackbird
- And nipped off her nose.
- There was such a commotion,
- that little Jenny wren;
- Flew down into the garden,
- and put it back again
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many interpretations have been placed on this rhyme, but it is known that a 16th-century amusement was to place live birds in a pie, as a form of entremet, which originally was an elaborate form of entertainment dish common among the nobility and upper middle class in Western Europe. live birds were slipped into a baked pie shell through a hole cut in its bottom and would fly out when the pie was cut into at the banquet.
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this is my submission to ~
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The Beast in You at POETRY JAM
prompt: write from the point of view of an animal–any animal but a human
thank you, Peggy!
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Prompt #141 Could you repeat that, please? at We Write Poems
prompt: Write a poem using anaphora*
thank you, Julie!
*Anaphora (pronounced “ah-NAF-oh-rah”) means “I repeat.” Whether in prose or poetry, anaphora is a repetition device where the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, sentences or verses. In poetry the repetition of the phrase can be just at the beginning of each line, setting the tone as a kind of meditation or a mantra, or it can be utilized more subtlety within the poem. The poem can be free verse or prose style.
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i am also participating in ~
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lyrics ~
four and twenty blackbirds
perched o’er the milhaus floor,
four and twenty blackbirds
perched o’er the milhaus floor,
watching a pair of blackbirds
a pair of blackbirds more,
four and twenty blackbirds
perched o’er the milhaus floor.
said one blackbird to the other,
“you must be my queen,”
said one blackbird to the other,
“you must be my queen,”
well, the other replied in turn,
“well, sure enough you my king.”
four and twenty blackbirds and
two began to sing.
the queen she sang of milhaus
rising to the sky,
the king he sang of riches baked
in a honey pie.
stick your finger in and taste it
on the sly.
sing a song of six-pence
and a pocketful of rye.
now, the queen she asked that question,
“what makes the milhaus rare?”
the king replied in turn,
“well, tonight it’s you so fair.”
four and twenty blackbirds
too baked themselves to care,
fly away you dainty dish,
two blackbirds flew upstairs.
when that sun had risen
the rhyming it was through.
when that sun had risen
yeah, yeah, the rhyming it was through.
four and twenty blackbirds
had rhymed that whole night through,
fly away two blackbirds
with nothing left to prove.
you count that blackbird lucky
who first to fly away,
bitter that taste left behind and
the lonesome heart astray.
pity not that blackbird,
the blackbird who must stay,
for having tasted blackbird pie,
baked and on display.
four and twenty blackbirds
four and twenty blackbirds
perched o’er the milhaus floor,
watching a pair
watching a pair of blackbirds
watching a pair of blackbirds
a pair of blackbirds more
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I like the scenario of the queen and king of blackbirds ~ The last verse is perfect for spring scenario ~ Have a good weekend Dani ~
yes, i think the last verse is the best. thank you so much for your visit and comment, Grace! ♥ always nice to see you.
Glad to see you got your poem finished and posted. I like that top painting of the two dark birds and the red flower. Unique point of view here and a story as well!
it took awhile in part because i couldn’t decide what animal to be! {smile} love your prompt, Peggy! ♥ thank you!
Dani….your poem did right away remind me of the nursery rhyme. A clever take on the prompt. Also interesting background material. I really cannot eating a pie that had live BIRDS in it before it was served. No way!!
i don’t think they actually ate it afterward because there wouldn’t have been anything but crust and bird poop to eat. yuck! {smile} thank you for your visit and comment, Mary!
The voice of your poem is truly fitting for your subject! Reminded me of the Redwall book series by Brian Jacques. I could hear the ‘caw’ in my ears!
i’ll have to check out the series for my grandchildren ~ they may even be aware of it. my daughter was already a teenager by the time the first book was published. thank you so much for your visit and kind comment, Jennifer! ♥
Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! You know I love blackbirds, but you might not know that the blackbird is my totem animal, and so has special significance to me. This whole post is super cool. And that song! That’s the coolest song I’ve heard in a dog’s age!
i had forgotten that the blackbird is your totem animal ~ too cool!!! and i know, the song is just hot shit!!! thanks for your so sweet comment, Sis! ♥
I love your take on the blackbirds rhyme. I like yours lots better than the original. It is brilliant!
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
you’re so sweet, Kathy! ♥ thank you!
oo really like the last stanza dani…blackbirds carry much in th way of symbolism…and you do really well in writing from their POV
the song had a VERY strong influence as i was listening to it over and over while writing. hope i didn’t steal too much! {smile}
Almost like a nursery rhyme. I enjoyed reading this very much. :)
thank you, Misky! ♥ i appreciate your visit and kind comment.
I like the painted image, and the tale inside the poem. Could hear the nursery rhyme in my head as I was reading it. Good job Dani,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
thank you very much, Elizabeth! ♥ i appreciate your visit and kind comment.
If you like black birds, do NOT read Ted Hughes CROW collection.
I love blackbirds, for their song, not to eat. I’m not so keen on crows – they are bullies.
i love blackbirds, too, both in life and in poetry. no, wouldn’t care to eat them! thanks for the warning about Ted Hughes! i appreciate your visit and comment, Viv! ♥
I guess I’m officially “old.” I hear the word ‘blackbird’ and all I can think of is the old Beatles tune,,,
I’m so glad to read that some made it out alive! I’ll have to tell my 40 year old daughter because that poem upset her when she was three! :)