For the Wednesday prompt at Real Toads, unhappy refrain. A gogyoshi. A gogyoshi is the most simple of Japanese forms – five lines. that is it. No syllable count, created by Taro Aizu. Unlike other Japanese forms, the poem is given a title. As a rule, I do not care for music prompts as I find people tend to rewrite the lyrics. Not always, but mostly. I did not listen to the song linked to this prompt.
Blue birds
Hot summer solstice day –
the bluebird nest is empty –
the fledglings have flown.
Blue skies absorb the bluebirds,
my backyard is lonely without them.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 14:42:22
An interesting portrait of loneliness.. with the colour blue working on several levels.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 14:48:40
Yes, it would be lonely…but have you noticed, soon someone else will come to keep you company? It happens in my yard. I hope it will happen in your’s. We have some fly catcher’s who come back each year…so many young have flown.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 14:51:40
Yes. The hummingbirds are coming in droves. I have 5 feeders out and will put up two more this afternoon. The bluebird usually do two clutches a season. I will be cleaning out the birdhouse next week.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 15:07:13
Such a gorgeously vivid portrayal of longing and loneliness here, Toni 💞
Jun 21, 2018 @ 15:10:32
Thank you Sanaa
Jun 21, 2018 @ 16:52:33
So lovely, Toni. I am thinking of the mothers whose babies are missing right now.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 16:56:44
I am thinking what a monster Trump.is. bluebirds are my happy place.
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Jun 21, 2018 @ 21:04:20
Yep, that’s how I’m feeling, too. The robins who come every year made their nest on a low branch of my black walnut tree. The nest fell after they departed, but the sight of it was kind of sad. I am pretty sure only one baby survived. i see the parents around the yard with the one juvenile, who looks the same as the parents except for some speckling on the breast. They didn’t appear at all today, though.
Jun 21, 2018 @ 21:40:16
I found hatched eggs – three. Three fledglings to return. I love the young robins, as big as their parents being fed
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Jun 21, 2018 @ 21:25:36
kaykuala
The long days will bring the necessary changes for the better!
Hank
Jun 22, 2018 @ 10:06:33
Hi Toni ~~ This is delightful, the way Mother Nature intended.
“the bluebird nest is empty –
the fledglings have flown”
Of course there are those who don’t fly away but are still on the ground. I listen to the parents cheering their babies along and clucking to keep the cats away. They don’t stay there long, I never have seen the end of this senario.
..
Jun 22, 2018 @ 10:47:05
I saw once, years ago, the bluebirds teaching their babies to fly. It was at my mother’s home. We stood behind the curtains sneaking peeks at them. It was incredible.
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Jun 23, 2018 @ 11:07:17
On a literal level, I’ve never managed to coax bluebirds into my yard, and I rather covet them when I see them frolicking elsewhere. Really lovely reflection in this short verse.
Jun 23, 2018 @ 11:14:39
Thank you. I use mealy worms in the bird bath to tempt them plus plain white houses They like plain white houses I also clean out the houses aftdr they leave. I have 8 families now. They return to clutch about twice a summer. Other seeds and diet cakes of course. Took me two years to get them started.
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