Poetry
1 min
Two Laps Around Quail Creek Circle
Elanor Lin
Elanor Lin
Busy, busy this morning,
chit chit
wirra wirra weeep
one flock appears
after another, skittering
jugjugjugjug
through the bushes,
winging across
heeeo heeeo
the sky,
clustered at the top of a tree.
kyikki firra wirra wa-weeep
brrjjzzzzz BRRRJJZZZZZZZZZ
The chainsaw cuts through a pipe
wwoooooooooaaaaarrrrrrrrr
with a scream but through it
heeeo heeeo
tirra-tirra
I can still
krik krik
hear the birds singing.
Finches
chyoop-chyoop
in the cherry blossom
hivahawee
red-browed
weeek
among the delicate petals.
chyoop-chyoop hivahaweee-weeek
The mockingbird
aaaaah
aaah
unfurls on its perch,
a white and brown
buckyuuhh woooweee
swirl against blue sky.
It throws itself into the air
—UP—
kwuhweee kwuhweee kwuh
chest first, two beats of the wings,
wukweewer wukweewer
then a flip back down.
chuckachuckachucka
Is it drawn to the sun, responding
breep breep
to the magnetic pull of the sky?
hyuu-hEEuuu
hyuu-hEEuuu
Or is it the inner fire, flaring up
hweeeka hweeeka
that swings it
gulla
through a loop
gullagulla
and back down?
The lone crow
Lord Sable
on top of a chimney
and the quail family
byong wik wik wi-wik
sliding together
and away.
waow-waow wi-wik
wirra
breek
wi-wik
This poem was written by a Bay Area local for the San Jose Public Library Short Edition collection.
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