The Common House Sparrow

[BobBradshaw]

The Common House Sparrow

doesn’t own the air
like the red hawk,
doesn't dive 
like an osprey
or sing like a lark
on holiday.

He talks
sensibly
in a simple dialect
of cheeps and chirrups,

wearing
the same work clothes,
greys and browns,
day after day.

How can a bird so small
on the social scale
know happiness?

Yet there he is, fluffing up dust
with his pals

or flicking light
from a puddle

as if neither his life
nor that puddle's
could ever be put
out

[FranktheFrank]

Your love of birds coming out in another poem, Bob.
As child they were the only feathered friends I knew.
We had a birdbath and I fed them crusts of bread
and watched from behind the dining room glass window.
Not so prevalent these days, their habitat squeezed
somewhat by other species that thrive because of the
wildlife push t improve the environment.
The chirrups can be annoying when echoing in a barn
as in the YouTube channel 'Frisian Horses'. You've
picked up on their love of bathing in water
or dust, I imagine to prevent lice. I do enjoy
watching them fluffing, so cute.

[BobBradshaw]

Ieuan, thanks for sharing your experience. I met a woman recently who abhors birds. I don’t know how that’s possible.

[FranktheFrank]

Cats maybe, cuddly but they spoil the lawn and torment birds.

[BobBradshaw]

I love cats…. But you’re right. They take out a lot of birds every year.

[CalebMurdock]

I've been looking down the list of poems, and this is another pretty one. I like everything about it, except the ending:

as if neither his life
nor that puddle's
could ever be put
out

"could ever be put out" strikes me as colloquial and unpoetic. There must be a prettier way to say what you mean, which I assume is "come to an end". Indeed, the word "end" works for me:

as if neither his life
nor that puddle's
could ever end

There is a writer on my other forum who is crazy for birds. I would ask her permission to post a couple of her poems here, but we aren't on good terms right now.

[BobBradshaw]

I like your suggestion