September’s Bonk
All through August, they were wild-ing
I could hardly hear my muse boo
But I needn’t do much thinking
Day found me languid, lost in blues
Hardly could I hear muse say boo
I’m not one to miss the tocsin
Day found me — languid, lost, & bluesy
As the birds exercised their tonsils
I hardly ever miss the tocsins
Of each morning starting time-ily
As the birds exercised their tonsils
Till the bonk of silence toils me
For the mornings started time-ily
The shift has started — seasons change
Till the bonk of silence is toiling
The birds migrating: glorious exchange
The shift has started: change of season
In Southern Hemispheres, they wait with hope
Spare them the bonk of silence that toils
They await bird serenades to cope
The Southern Hemisphere waits with hope
To see wild formations fall from the sky
Spare them the bonk of silence that toils
As birds fly by daylight which soon turns to night
In V formations, some ’ll descend from the sky
But through big cities, distractions do hit
As birds fly by daylight which soon turns to night
Distorted illusions disorient the knit
But through big cities, distractions do hit
Turn off your light — stars at night are plenty
Distorted illusions disorient the knit
Do it for the birds: one window collision’s too many!
Year after year, we need birds wild-ing
© 2022 selmamartin.com
This poem was published on Medium too
For hopeful participation at Ragtag Community Daily Prompt, where the Saturday prompt is BIRDS. We all care about these avian friends. Let’s do for them what we
can. Thanks, RDP. xoxo
Hi, friends. Some of you might remember a similar post I shared last year. While
researching migratory birds for a cute short poem, I came upon a disturbing discovery.
But I couldn’t do cute knowing the avian travelers faced huge setbacks at that moment
in time.
One article I read was in The Guardian, and it told about the fate of scores of migrating
birds crashing on windows. It featured photographs by Melissa Breyer, a volunteer with
NYC Audubon who tweeted about finding nearly 300 birds on sidewalks surrounding the World Trade Center towers on September 14th, 2021.
I invite you to click the link to read the article and see the photographs.
On Twitter, the photographer said, and I quote:
“What is the word for rage and heartbreak at the same time?”
“Preventing window collisions isn’t rocket science; turn off lights at night, make
windows on lower floors bird-friendly.”
A whole year later, this unfortunate setback continues. (Let’s try to remedy this by
spreading awareness). Thank you, Melissa.
~ Melissa Breyer, Twitter.
Or click the link to see the photo thread/tweet I engaged with last year.
Now onto the poem.
Pantoum
The modern pantoum is a poem of any length,
composed of four-line stanzas in which
the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve
as the first and third lines of the next stanza.
The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first.
A pantoum that draws attention to the fate of our wild avian friends, asking big cities
to turn off the lights, please. I hope I did the form justice and that it conveyed my
sentiments about the scores of birds that won’t make it to their destination unless we
act now.
Hello, readers. If you haven’t joined Medium and have decided
to give it a try, please use this Medium referral link which benefits
me with a commission. XO
And to see what Medium did for me this weekend, check out this screenshot:
Let me inform you that only 1% of my viewers are internal, which means that I will not
get rich on this poem. But, BUT, isn’t it true that what a writer wants most is to be
read? I’m getting mega views for this one from Medium.
And Twitter has also informed me of increased views on the tweet Medium shared of
that poem.
Once in a lifetime, perhaps, but this made me smile. Sharing, so you know that Medium
is holding some of my smiles for me.
Thanks for reading, and I wish you miracles.
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Exquisitely beautiful, Selma! Loved the form, flow, and message!
Hey, Susan. Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate you. XoXo Blessings.
We’ve had decals on windows for a long time on our bungalow to stop such strikes, which always seemed worse in summer … we think it’s the sun’s angle. At night, our curtains are closed and only the most minimal light used. Wonderful poem to highlight this awful plight of such wonderful creatures, Selma. Hugs 💕🙂
Every little effort helps tremendously.
Where will we be doing it hour birdsong? It’s too sad how many make the arduous trip a last trip.
Bless you. Xoxo
Oh how I will miss the summer days with the sound of beautiful birds. Great post!
Thanks, Belladonna. Summer without birds would be hard. Blessing you. XoXo
That’s a very interesting format, it worked really well to paint your magnificent imagery
It was a tad confusing at first. Can’t say that I mastered it but I’m glad I tried it. Glad you read, Deb. Blessings.
Sidewalks scattered with dead birds is so tragically sad, and senseless! Your poignant poem is beautifully written. Moving and informative post, Selma.
Senseless indeed, when protecting them is an easy switching off of the lights and doing something to the glass structures.
I’m glad you found this informative, dear Michele Lee. Blessings.
Hopefully, with more awareness, this will become standard practice. Saving precious bird lives and electricity! Good of you to help spread the word. 💗
So beautiful birds fly migrant. Very interesting story sharing you. I like. Very nice poem for migratory birds
The poor birds don’t make it to where they’re heading sometimes, Raj. And that’s sad.
Si glad you read and found this interesting. Blessings. Stay sweet.
Yes, you are right say. That’s sad.
Blessing & stay sweetness.
Thanks!
Wow! We had new windows put in a year and a half ago. Our feeders were too close. I researched and found remedies…
You did more than others by researching. You’re so cool in my book. Saving one bird is plenty. Thanks, Ruth. Bless you. Xo
💜
Clever poetry and beautifully put, Selma. Thank you for making us aware of the potential plight of our migratory birds. I have occasionally had a bird fly into one of my windows; they usually sit there on the ground, stunned, for a few minutes, but then, thankfully, most of them take flight again, disappearing into the blue sky and white clouds. I’ve got stickers on my windows now, which seem to be preventing most of the collisions. Apparently, the birds see the sky’s reflection in the glass and often, tragically, go soaring into it. I imagine the problem could be worse in high-rise buildings. Thanks for caring about our precious wildlife. Xx 🦢🌹💛
Ellie. Thanks for this. Yes, some pick up and go but others don’t. Just imagining those little bones crashed is too much to take.
Thanks for doing what you’re doing. Bless you. Xoxo
This is so sad, Selma – thank you for drawing this problem to my attention!
Yes. Sad. Most of us are oblivious to this occurrence. But it’s real. Those photos and short videos of her sad-finds are for real. They squeeze the heart.
Turn off the lights, please!
Thanks for t he comment, Ingrid. Thanks for the amazing work you do blessings.
Wow, very warm, sometimes makes you fell nostalgic. Taps on those filleting moments with ourselves.
The sweet morning of the birds is always a delight and we would be nothing without them. Your beautiful poetry raises awareness❤️🙏🏼
We would be nothing if we lose the birds. Let’s not even imagine that.
I hope it does raise awareness. XoXo
I could hear their serenades as I read with delight, taking wing with these migratory travelers. Miracles to you too, Selma.
~Dora
Appreciation for your comment, dear Dora. Blessings, always.
Thank you for this important message. We need to build with bird safety in mind. One window collision IS too many!
Too many too many, is one. Thanks for reading and engaging with me. Appreciate you. xoxo
xoxo.
Fascinating! And sad that it happens. Hopefully, the birds are only slightly stunned and get themselves back up and keep flying! Great pantoum, Selma, love the title. It did make me chuckle, as ‘bonk’ means something quite different in the UK 🙂 <3
Oh my… I looked it up. No, it’s not the British meaning here. It’s meant as a bird sound. Bless you.
Dear Selma, thanks for joining in with this beautiful pantoum and raising awareness about their plight. What would our lives be without birdsongs!
We wouldn’t hear song in the summer. A sad occurrence.
Thanks for reading. XoXo