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
Originally published in 1987 in a short-lived publication called The Balcones Review, this is the opening of a longer work. When I last looked out my window at that same tree, I heard the birds, no longer silent.
Beautiful, Robert!
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Thank you, Merril. Another slim poem! 🙂
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🙂
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This is rich with possibilities … pondering the brief lives of both echoes and birds, the relative duration of each, extending to the human life span …
Lovely contrasting of still and wind, silence and “something thrashes” …
Any way to see the longer work connected to this?
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I’ll see if I can dig it out. This part of the poem works. The rest is not very good.
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I’d love to engage with a really long Okaji poem – even if it made no sense whatsoever.
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I’ve sent it to you. You may want to read it before bedtime, as it will likely put you to sleep!
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this…your words building images in my mind… What a gift. Thank you 🙂
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I’m so pleased you liked this, Carrie. It’s an early poem, but one I worked on seemingly forever.
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Reminded me of poems from Sylvia Plath’s “Crossing the Water” collection: images of life and death intertwined in precarious balances. Love the sudden slow downs and stops after more complex passages.
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Thank you! The nature of the poem seemed to require the rhythm.
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Good one !!
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Thank you.
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“the wind is what
the stillness
desires to say”
Oh, these first few lines! Loved it, Robert! 🙂
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Thank you, Susi!
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You’re welcome, Robert! 🙂
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