For Poets United, Poetry Pantry. The birds are vanishing from the skies.
Almost Autumn
“Birds were created to record everything. They were not designed just to be beautiful jewels in the sky, but to serve as the eyes of heaven.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
For the first time since April
the morning was cool.
The autumnal equinox swings through the heavens.
Wind rustles through the dried leaves
on the cornstalks,
crickets sing their tenor songs,
the bees sleepily droning.
But,
where was the sound of birds?
Had they all slipped into the southward migration?
Mast is heavy in the woods –
gonna be a hard winter.
But,
no sound of cardinals or sparrows,
no twitting of finches.
I listened, hearing only the sound
of the blood in my body,
the beating of my heart.
But,
no birds.
Where have the birds gone?
Sep 22, 2019 @ 14:02:23
An uneasy marriage of peaceful beauty and rising terror. Very well written!
Sep 22, 2019 @ 14:19:19
Thank you
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 22, 2019 @ 15:05:15
This is very eerie. It would be a chilling world without the sound of birds….and only being able to hear the beating of one’s heart and the pulsing of the blood.
Sep 22, 2019 @ 15:17:52
The silence is very strange. Birds are disappearing from our skies. The obliteration of their nesting grounds contributes to this.
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 22, 2019 @ 15:24:38
I can feel this silence, and share your concern about the disappearing birds. Sigh.
Sep 22, 2019 @ 15:26:56
I have been reading about this. I can witness it by the silence in my trees
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 22, 2019 @ 17:31:43
I agree with Mary, the world would be a chilling and desolate place without birds and their melodious sound that serves as means in spreading hope. Poignant write! ❤️
Sep 22, 2019 @ 20:17:49
This makes me so worried really–insects and birds are vanishing at an astonishing rate–how will we live? I love your opening in particular-and I don’t know Suzy Kassem’s writing, but thank you for the quote–so very moving —
Sep 22, 2019 @ 21:07:26
Ominous. Woods without birdsong. Well done.
Sep 22, 2019 @ 21:32:41
Thank you.
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 22, 2019 @ 23:02:55
A very impactful piece … it leaves a haunting echo … where once there was birdsong.
Sep 22, 2019 @ 23:33:25
They have left for the south and chirping outside my window at 4am in the morning.:) I don’t know why birds get up this early before the dawn…something is going on.I think birds are a good indicator of what is going to happen. I know before a tsunami or earthquake they are dead silent or if they start going beserk there is a snake around.Maybe you are going to have an early freezing winter.
Sep 23, 2019 @ 00:04:32
The farmer’s almanac is calling for a hard winter. But I have read several articles about the decrease in the bird population. We usually fon’t get frost here intil mid-november.
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 23, 2019 @ 05:41:04
There is a real longing in this beautiful poem..i hope the birds return once Autumn has passed
Sep 23, 2019 @ 05:44:54
Thank you
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________
Sep 23, 2019 @ 07:21:07
Silent Fall, as scary as Silent Spring.
Sep 23, 2019 @ 07:29:38
Beautiful writing – and a scary scenario.
Sep 23, 2019 @ 09:56:09
I have to strain to hear them too. Such a hum without a solo.
Sep 23, 2019 @ 12:37:38
I recently read an article on how many birds are disappearing. It would be such a sad world without birdsong.
Sep 23, 2019 @ 14:43:03
Yes it would
Get Outlook for Android ________________________________
Sep 23, 2019 @ 16:05:23
I hope that they have left already… or maybe they just stay silent when there is nothing to quarrel about… here it was 3C this morning… so definitely starting to cool off .
Sep 23, 2019 @ 16:07:04
Nope. There are articles about how the bird population is steadily decreasing.
Get Outlook for Android
________________________________