Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pablo Neruda: "Bird"

It was passed from one bird to another,
the whole gift of the day.
Prothonotary warbler Lake Isabella


The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,
in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass
to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air -
flock of ducks

and there, night came in.
P9210049

When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green
between sun and geography -
Yellow-billed cuckoo


I saw how wings worked,
how perfumes
are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,
flying skimmers


and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,
the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;
waves

I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet
than the swallows in their courses,
TRES strike a pose


the tiny, shining water
of the small bird on fire
Victor E.
which dances out of the pollen

7 comments:

dguzman said...

Wow.

Beth said...

Ditto.

Beth

Susan Ellis said...

Lovely...thanks

Cindie Ulreich said...

This is lovely.
I sent you a note on facebook.

:)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing the poem and pictures--beautiful.

LauraHinNJ said...

Neruda always makes me smile and feel something nice inside.

Thanks for sharing this one... I hadn't read it before.

TR Ryan said...

Ahhhhh. Fantastic! Better in Spanish though. Hot tub.