Poetry: Three Versions of the Same Bird-Library-Book Poem
With still more sitting on water…
We’re returning too many Library books at the same
Time and they slide down the chute and land inside
With a thump, one after the next…
In the background from the direction of the ocean.
A kind of guttural buzzing accompanies each thump
We look up to find the noises are a flock of turkey vultures
Circling above us…
How can it be their sound so well accompanies
A return of a knowing borrowed with a due date?
Loud sounds leading us further Swirling
White over ocean a cloud of ecstatic terns
With still more sitting on water…
We’ve never seen a vulture float before &
None of the terns seems to be diving for fish
Now the excited cloud comes in for a visit
They rest on a liquid sky reflection & the buzz of Books
Falling fades into giving away as hushing waves.
Without any visible effort they all
Drift together to a beach on our right & walk ashore to
Fix their feathers. Without our books we’re quick to move in
for a closer look, baby step after baby step we advance on
A flock of lively peeps who join the party as a line of
brown pelicans pass by… In migration time of books once ours
before their past due we forget our limitations… and fly away
Deane Rimerman & Steve Toth
———————————–
MY GRATION!
There is a strange howl coming
from the direction of the sky
A kind of cutter-like buzzing
that is loud four miles away
We look up to see a flock of
vultures circling above us
at the library book return chute
Can it really be that they
want to return some overdue books?
But the sound is scaring us further
Swirling white over the library
we see a cloud of frightened seagulls
with still more hiding under the water
We have never seen a vulture attack before
but all of them seem to be diving at the seagulls
Now the seagulls turn in flight & land
on our heads and shouders
& the vultures swoop down toward us
Without any visible teeth they all chomp
together on our heads and shoulders
as the seagulls fly away laughing at us
We want revenge on those seagulls
& advance carefully with giant steps
But a flock of baby vultures joins the party
and chomps on our fingers
This must be migration time
We better start migrating fast!
Dave Morice & Steve Toth
—————————–
MARVELOUS SIGHT
There is a strange sound coming
from the direction of the ocean
A kind of guttural buzzing
that is loud four blocks away
We look up to see a flock of
turkey vultures circling above us
at the library book return chute
Can it really be
those usually silent ones?
But the sound is leading us further
Swirling white over the ocean
we see a cloud of ecstatic terns
with still more sitting on the water
We have never seen one float before
& none of them seems to be diving for fish
Now the excited cloud comes to rest
on the liquid sky reflection
& the buzz fades into the hushing waves
Without any visible effort they all drift
together to a beach on our right
& walk ashore to fix their feathers
We want a closer look
& advance carefully with baby steps
A flock of lively peeps joins the party
as a line of brown pelicans passes by
This must be migration time
Forget your limitations & fly anyway
Steve Toth
