Due to planned festivities, I’ll not have time for regular updates this week. Instead, I’m reposting some favorites. The following was first posted in January 2014.
Originally published in 1987 in a short-lived publication called The Balcones Review, “Uccello” is the opening of a longer work. Today, as I look out my window at that same tree, I hear the birds, no longer silent.
Uccello
the wind is what
the stillness
desires to say
each instant
collapsing into itself
like a bud
returning
to the seed
listen
the birds in my tree
are silent
as echoes
before their brief
lives are
silent
something thrashes
in the leaves
the feather
spiraling
slowly
is not only what
it is
as the candle
is more
than flame
or a moment
curling
to darkness
the question
is of clarity
I built a frame
but placed
nothing in it
the wind
blows through
quietly as if
between silences
there exists
only silence or
light
the familiar embrace
unfolding
The formatting isn’t right, so I’ve provided a pdf of how the poem should look. It might be interesting to compare the two.
O at the Edges 
Sooo elegant! I would feel like the biggest a**hole on earth if all I did was click the “like” button. *g*
Wonderful in the extreme!
Ronzini
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Ha! Thank you, Obi-Ron.
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The pdf works for me. Such as ‘quietly as if
between silences….’
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I see your problem – I laid out my comment as you’d done the pdf 🙂
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It’s possible to format within WordPress, but I don’t want to take the time to learn how. I’m lazy, that way.
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It seems you and I are both taking trips down memory lane these days; you with your beautiful poetry, me with the music of my youth. What does that say? Are we getting old? 🙂 All joking aside, this is a gorgeous poem!
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Perhaps we’re just getting a tad more, un, seasoned? And thank you!
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i’m with ron on this one.
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Thanks, John.
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A beautiful poem–and even better in the pdf version.
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Thank you, Merril!
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Time stood still when I read this, although the formatting issue is a gripe of mine too because the aesthetic physical qualities of a poem are tangible. Wonderful in the pdf. Sublime!
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I’m so pleased you like this. Formatting is terribly important to certain poems.
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I love the layout of the PDF version. Ditto Ron’s comments. ABSOLUTELY.LOVELY.
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Thank you!
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I could feel this, but the original format (pdf) is like being inside each element of the poem. (I do like that idea of attaching a pdf.) I like how the “empty” frame is as much an element as any other in the scene.
Yes, formatting is frustrating. I’ve copied a line from one of my poems that had the format I wanted, only to have the editor change it as soon as it was saved.
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Thanks, Ken. I’d been reading Gustaf Sobin when I wrote this, and his use of space and language certainly influenced me.
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Great as is Robert. But… with the pdf, the visual effect of twisting, like wisps of wind, takes the reader experience to another level – a real finesse.
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Thanks, Simon. I don’t tinker with formatting as much as I used to. Hmm. Maybe I should reconsider.
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Pingback: Another Oldie: Uccello | wwwpalfitness
WP does limit the writer in format options, an important part of the repertoire for sure. Regardless, wonderful in each format. —CC
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There are ways of dealing with formatting within WP, but frankly I don’t want to take the time. And thank you for your kind words.
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I agree. Mixing poetry and HTML is not my cup of tea either. 🙂
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