HM Holten

Musical Birds

Violin drills emerge from the trees

But nobody glimpses a fiddler, a source:

Blackbirds can emulate any one sound

They relish a challenge for fingers or throat.

The robin however, his red breast afire

Sings harmony, filled with enchantment, desire

His voice trills and ululates; he measures invention

Forms pictures of bliss while he waits for his cue

Both birds are such artists of musical skill.

We rarely can match them

Their gift or their flair has style and panache

Primeval and deep, full of beauty and nerve

Their offerings echo in ear and in mind

Give challenge or discord

But mostly delight

***

***

© HMH 2013

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Hanne H

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10 responses to “Musical Birds”

  1. Debi+Ennis+Binder avatar
    Debi+Ennis+Binder

    Welcome Spring! And our beautiful birds, filling our backyard with songs and some discord, as they battle over the bird feeder!

    Reply
    1. Hanne H avatar
      Hanne H

      Yes, spring will be exceedingly welcome. For now, we have storms most of the time. Still, you hear the birds defying the grim weather. Sure, they must have the opportunity to discuss bird politics and food division at the bird feeder. . .

      Reply
      1. Debi Ennis Binder avatar
        Debi Ennis Binder

        It’s a free-for-all here! Most of the birds are the same size. I love the hummingbirds, I can’t believe what bullies some are. We have had a visit from a hawk once and a roadrunner, neither were welcome and the little birds sure let them know. Out cats sit on the catio and watch, giving their “ick-ick-ick” opinions.

        Reply
        1. Hanne H avatar
          Hanne H

          That’s lovely. Hummingbirds are so beautiful. I believe that all birds are bullies when they have to. The blackbirds in my mother’s garden always made a racket when there were birds of prey lurking in the neighbourhood.
          And cats love birds, especially if they can get at them. The closer the better.

          Reply
          1. Debi Ennis Binder avatar
            Debi Ennis Binder

            Our cats love to watch the birds, but we know they’d get their paws on them in a flash if they could. That’s why they have a catio and don’t get to go outdoors. I sometimes wonder if the birds are mocking them. They twitter around just out of paw reach and they too make a racket. It’s like the know they’re just out of reach! 😊

  2. Hanne H avatar
    Hanne H

    I’m sure they know, those mischievous birds. And the cats are frustrated — no doubt. Still, it is better so. I remember having to pull a small bird out of Oberon’s mouth. It survived — but was somewhat stunned by the experience. That is one of the few times, I’ve held a wild bird in my hands. Their feet are warm. . .

    Reply
    1. Debi+Ennis+Binder avatar
      Debi+Ennis+Binder

      I bet! We had a cat a while back named Smudge. This was before we kept them inside. He came in with a pigeon in his mouth. His eyes were huge! He didn’t know what to do with it. So he did the best thing for a cat–he released it in the house, then chased it around some more. We threw a towel on it to catch it and took it to the wild bird lady. She said some feathers were broken, but he didn’t get any teeth into him. She let him go, and shortly after that, we nailed up the outside cat door, enclosed our porch with chicken wire and put a cat door into that. Our first catio. The soon figured out that was it. All the great outdoors they were going to get.

      Reply
      1. Hanne H avatar
        Hanne H

        Naughty Smudge! Poor thing though with that pigeon. Sometimes cats simply don’t know when they take on something too big for them. I believe that I’d done the same, meaning — making a catio, after that experience.

        Reply
        1. Debi+Ennis+Binder avatar
          Debi+Ennis+Binder

          The things we do for cats!

          Reply
          1. Hanne H avatar
            Hanne H

            So true. We just couldn’t help it. . .

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