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!
❦
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
❦
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
❦
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
❦
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
·❦ •Ꮼ• ❧·
❦ •Ꮼ• ❧
• Ꮼ •
Ꮼ
this song was found in the comments on another blog ~ LOVE it!
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
❦
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.
*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.
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
she came seeking an apprenticeship receiving naught but laughter and scorn a “mere” woman could not be taught the ways of their enchantments or so the necromancers thought
if only they had remembered that women hold the most holy of magic far more potent than any man could wield if only they had remembered some might still be alive to tell the tale
she did not take rejection lightly hiding just out of sight more determined than they she learned their lessons then broke all their rules
she gnawed on bones until they gave in to her will she clawed the eyes out of live bats and newts making her sorcery invincible
in the end mightiest of all she became though that was not difficult once she finished destroying their very souls
You consider me a young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge
Things they would not teach me of in college
I can see the destiny you sold
Turn into a shining band of gold
I’ll be wrapped around your finger
I’ll be wrapped around your finger
Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you’re up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition
You will see it come to it’s fruition
I’ll be wrapped around your finger
I’ll be wrapped around your finger
Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you’ll never find me
I will turn your face to alabaster
When you find your servant is your master
Oh, you’ll be wrapped around my finger
You’ll be wrapped around my finger
You’ll be wrapped around my finger
Heaven A gateway to hope Just like a feeling I need It’s no joke
And though it hurts me To see you this way Betrayed by words I’d never heard Too hard to say them
Oh, up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home Up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home
Oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time
Each way I turn I know I’ll always try To break the circle That has been placed ’round me
From time to time I find I lost Some meaning That was urgent To myself I do believe
Oh, up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home Up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home
Oh it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time Oh, it’s the last time
And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before
And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before Oh, up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home
And I’ve never met anyone quite like you before Up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home
Up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home Up, down, turn around; please don’t let me hit the ground Tonight I think I’ll walk alone; find my soul as I go home
