A bluejay
Inert, lifeless
Situated awkwardly
In the center of the sidewalk
Not a cerulean feather
Out of place
As if it breathed its last
In a three-piece suit
No wound or injury
To indicate
Cause of death
My oddness showing
I picked it up
Turned it over
Examined its beauty
My heart could not bear
To throw it away
Instead I wrapped it
In a plastic bag
Dubious middle-class cryogenics
Occurred alongside
Frostbitten pork chops
Hand-delivering
My sapphire offering
To the ornithology department
At the local museum
Double doors opened, admitted
Into a most marvellous sight
Hundreds of thousands of specimens
Carefully stuffed with cotton
From the common wren
To majestic peregrine falcon
Giant emus and snowy owls
But the Crown Jewels
Of my unexpected tour
Two birds of paradise
The most beautiful
Of all Passeriformes
Settled on a metal cart
Tagged and catalogued
Marked for study
Sun bleaches pigment
From feathers
Their particular, spectacular array
Will never again
See the light of day
Yet a studious man emits
A glow of vibrant energy
Illuminating revered lineages
And Latin surnames
Beauty shines
Beyond mere surface
Luminance of
His life’s work
Sharing knowledge’s wealth
With this humble recipient
Honoured beyond words
Bearing witness to wonder
A sea of dead birds
Does not sound like paradise
I know, but
Two motionless avifauna
From a faraway place
Regal scions of evolution
Held court in a
Dimly lit mausoleum
(Mothball odour aside)
We, the humble subjects
Specks in time
Paid full obeisance
As was right and good
About the Creator
Aspen Marie
In love with life and all of its foibles.
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More stories from Aspen Marie and writers in Poets and other communities.
Getting Warm
welcome The World Warmth To Feelings welcome the world's warmth to feelings Toasty fire on the wood stove with a loved one welcome the world's warmth to feelings Electric or super warm blanket with hot chocolate welcome the world's warmth to feelings Laying in a warm bed watching favorite movie welcome the world's warmth to feelings sweet talk or loving conversation definitely warm the soul welcome the world's warmth to feelings Nothing like a hot shower relax muscles and warms you up welcome the world's warmth to feelings Some soup or chili is the ticket welcome the world's warmth to feelings If you have to be outside layer it up Getting warm is the feeling of worlds gift and feeling the love from others By: Kelly Vedder
By Kelly Veddera day ago in Poets
Getting Serious About Comedy (Part I)
If I were asked to remark on my life and the childhood that paved some road leading me to this point, I would have to say something about all the funny people who surrounded me for the last 26,872 days (and counting). Somewhere along that road, I became a big fan of laughter and the comedy that spawns it – and, I mean not only my own laughter, but the laughter of others, some of which I have actually been responsible for inducing.
By John Oliver Smith2 days ago in Humor
Comments (6)
Well-wrought! The blue jay seems at peace.
As I read this. It felt like...all I know of Marie so far, this definitely seems like a thing she would do. I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. This is beautiful, though. I am glad you picked up the bird. And the birds of paradise sound spectacular. But your brevity is on display again. So many absolutely stunning lines with only one or two words. Marvellous work.
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'Not a cerulean feather out of place' my word, does this line make me want to cry. You showed reverence here alright. I love birds so it's only normal for me to break thump to click this one. 'my oddness showing' just the line I needed to help me to swallow the sad news. Goofy I love it. After middle class cryogenics, how on earth did you manage to fit 'frost bitten pork chops in' I loved the unexpected before the sapphire offering. Your lines are bursting with energy and creativity. You even went all the way to the ornithology department, and what was there I liked the sound of. The studious man and you seemed to have had a good chat too. This was fantastic as always, Aspen ❤️🤗
Your poem is so vivid and moving. You turned a moment of sadness into something full of beauty, wonder, and deep respect.
That photo of that blue jay almost made me cry. There's something about it...I would have loved to have seen the birds of paradise too. Not a great fan of taxidermy but am of the natural world. This was a great little excursion with you.
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Oh no, poor little birdie 😭😭😭😭😭 What you did was so nice, thank you for that 🥹❤️ Avifauna and obeisance are new words for me!