Tuesday, June 19, 2012

There's one outside my window this morning


***
Orioles
 
Orioles see the sun
before it rises

just as they see lines
of the earth as she spins,

a sense of a new day:
each new day, new.

Orioles see the sun
before it sees

landscapes in the dark,
ruled by alarm clocks,

clutching clouds;
Orioles see and sing.



***Posted to Open Link Night Week 49 at the dVerse Pub.

31 comments:

Marcoantonio Arellano (Nene) said...

Nice!

Unknown said...

Very nice Raven. Funny, just last week there was a Baltimore Oriole sitting on the bushes in my front yard. I thought it was an Oriole, but looked it up and found out it was. That's three different species of birds in the past month, Cardinal, Blue Jay and now the Oriole to go along with the typical Robins and pigeons we get all the time. Fascinating and beautifully colored birds, unfortunately I didn't have my camera handy any of the times and by the time I came back in they were gone.

Really nice job as you add a whole new personality to the Oriole. and the ruled by alarm clocks is a great line, that layers the piece very nicely.

Really nice painting as well. Thanks

Brian Miller said...

i would much rather be awoken by bird song than the alarm clock any day....we sleep with the window open...so often that is the case...

Laurie Kolp said...

What a wonderful way to start the day!

Ravenblack said...

Nene, Fred, Brian and Laurie, thank you!

Fred: Birds are difficult to capture. We have black-napped orioles which tend to be perched up high in our trees and trees here are thick with leaves, we usually don't catch more than a peep of them. :) Thanks for the comment on the painting.

Brian: We sleep with air conditioners -- too hot here and no much breeze either. But an oriole's song has no problem going through closed windows it seems! There's also mynahs who can be loud too.

Laurie: Not if you want to sleep in! In any case, I'm usually up about the time when the oriole starts, so doesn't affect me.

Victoria said...

Wonderful. Every year for about a month or 6 weeks, Bullock Orioles frequent our oriole feeder...that's what's happening right now. It's a thrill for me. My husband has taken some great photos.

Pat Hatt said...

Such a song would surely perk up the cat's ears and he'd be right at the window wanting a snack.

Anonymous said...

Orioles are like bits of spun sun. Lovely poem. k.

Ravenblack said...

Victoria: That's really nice. :)

Pat: Haha! I imagine he would.

K: Thanks for your comment, that's a wonderful way to describe them.

Daydreamertoo said...

I've never heard of an Oriel so had to go and google it... what a beautiful bird and yes, a lovely way to start the day. Whomever invented alarm clocks needs shooting ;)

Buddah Moskowitz said...

I 'd love to hear you read this, it just begs for the music of the human voice. Still, it's great, as is.

Scarlet said...

I would also like to wake to that sound, rather than the ringing of the alarm clock ~ Great to see you at D'verse ~

Mary said...

I love this! Birds are always up before dawn. I so enjoy being greeted by them when I arise!

Semaphore said...

Is there really such a legend associated with orioles? Because if there is, it makes for a truly wondrous thought, that there are animals blessed with such senses as can see what we can only imagine or foretell.

~Lady Day said...

I do like this...clean, simple, and orioles...one of my favourites, for sure. A great piece.

Ravenblack said...

Daydreamer: haha! Alarm clocks have cheerier chimes these days, remember the days when they actually make you jump when they ring? Goodness.

Buddah -- I'm afraid my voice is not so musical. Thank you for your wonderful comment.

Heaven: Great to see as well. I shall be about.

Mary: I love to hear them greet the morning. :)

Semaphore: I sorta came up with this by my own imagination. I don't know of any legends associated with that bird. It's just that the oriole sometimes start their call when its still dark and I wonder if they could see or sense beyond our spectrum the coming of the sun. But there's a theory that birds, usually with reference to migratory birds, have internal compasses, that they can somehow sense magnetic field/lines of the earth.

Ravenblack said...

Lady Day: Thank you for your comment and visit.

Claudia said...

i love to be up before the birds start to sing...just to don't miss a single moment of their morning celebration...such precious moments...love the way you penned this..

jackie dick said...

Nice way to capture the place of everything...including the oriole, in the Universe. I was right there with the tiny creature...allowing him to awaken me..Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

This is a lovely poem (as I said before) and thanks so much for your comment - you know I couldn't work on it till very late at night, and I just kept making it worse and worse. I've gone back to an earlier version now. Agh. I appreciate your honest commentary. k.

Ravenblack said...

Claudia: Thank you.

Jackie Dick: I'm glad the poem had that effect. Thanks.

K: I've been there.

libithina said...

this is beautiful - not heard of an oriole but what a view you paint Raven - a beautiful start to the day - Lib

Ravenblack said...

Thanks Lib. I hope you do get to see and hear an oriole someday. :)

my heart's love songs said...

i especially love the final stanza!

listening to birdsong calms me like nothing else. unfortunately, i don't know which bird is which! {smile}

Anonymous said...

Very lyrical - very nice.
How do you mean by oriole? The images take me islands around the world. Good reading!

Ravenblack said...

Heart's love song: I usually can't identify all the birds too. Thanks for coming by and reading!

Kolembo: An oriole (where I am, it is the black napped oriole) is a yellow bird (slightly smaller than a crow) that has a shrill call, it does has several variations of song. Thank you for your feedback, makes me glad. :)

ayala said...

A great way to start the day :) lovely.

Brother Ollie said...

very cool piece - love your vision on the power of the Oriole.

Ravenblack said...

Ayala and Ollie -- thank you! I'm glad you two enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

Percpective! I like the depth in this.

Ravenblack said...

Thank you, Darkangel.