American Songbirds – MADHU MALTI

The Sparrow : Paul Laurence Dunbar : : Bird Poems : :

The Sparrow : : By Paul Laurence Dunbar( 1872 –1906 ) : : : : A little bird, with plumage brown,Beside my window flutters down, 2 A moment chirps its little strain,Ten taps upon my window–pane, 4 And chirps again, and hops along,To call my notice to its song; 6But I work on, nor heedContinue reading “The Sparrow : Paul Laurence Dunbar : : Bird Poems : :”

The Baltimore Oriole : Thomas Hill : Bird Poems : :

The Baltimore Oriole : : By Thomas Hill ▼ O golden robin! pipe again 1That happy, hopeful, cheering strain!A prisoner in my chamber, ISee neither grass, nor bough, nor sky;Yet to my mind thy warblings bring,In troops, all images of Spring;And every sense is satisfiedBy what thy magic has supplied. 8 As by enchantment, nowContinue reading “The Baltimore Oriole : Thomas Hill : Bird Poems : :”

The Oriole : Arlo Bates : : Bird Poems : :

The Oriole : : By Arlo Bates ▼ Like a live flame wind-wafted from altars celestialFloats the blithe oriole through the bright air;Dropping down as half won by spring’s glories terrestrial.Buoyantly upward swift fleeting to fare.Like the light on a fount’s rippling bosom that glancesWith the wavering pulse of its rhythmical flow,Now he rises, nowContinue reading “The Oriole : Arlo Bates : : Bird Poems : :”

The Baltimore Bird : Alexander Wilson : : Bird Poems : :

The Baltimore Bird ::By Alexander Wilson:: High on yon poplar, clad in glossiest green,The orange, black-capp’d Baltimore is seen;The broad-extended boughs still please him best,Beneath their bending skirts he hangs his nest;There his sweet mate, secure from every harm.Broods o’er her spotted store, and wraps them warm ;Lists to the noon-tide hum of busy bees.HerContinue reading “The Baltimore Bird : Alexander Wilson : : Bird Poems : :”

One of the ones that Midas touched , The Oriole : Emily Dickinson : : Bird Poems : :

The OrioleThe OrioleOne of the ones that Midas touched,Who failed to touch us all,Was that confiding prodigal,The blissful oriole.So drunk, he disavows itWith badinage divine;So dazzling, we mistake himFor an alighting mine.A pleader, a dissembler,An epicure, a thief, —Betimes an oratorio,An ecstasy in chief;The Jesuit of orchards,He cheats as he enchantsOf an entire attarFor hisContinue reading “One of the ones that Midas touched , The Oriole : Emily Dickinson : : Bird Poems : :”

To Hear An Oriole Sing : Emily Dickinson : : Bird Poems

To Hear An Oriole Sing : : By Emily Dickinson , Amherst / Massachusetts , U. S. : 526 To hear an Oriole singMay be a common thing—Or only a divine. It is not of the BirdWho sings the same, unheard,As unto Crowd— The Fashion of the EarAttireth that it hearIn Dun, or fair— SoContinue reading “To Hear An Oriole Sing : Emily Dickinson : : Bird Poems”

The Envious Wren : Phoebe Cary : : Bird Poems : :

The Envious Wren : : by Phoebe Cary ON the ground lived a hen,In a tree lived a wren,Who picked up her food here and there;While biddy had wheatAnd all nice things to eat.Said the wren, I declare, ‘t is n’t fair!” “It is really too bad!”She exclaimed — she was mad —“To go outContinue reading “The Envious Wren : Phoebe Cary : : Bird Poems : :”

Visit Of The Wrens : Paul Hemilton Hayne : : Bird Poems : :

Visit Of The Wrens : : By Paul Hemilton Hayne ( 1830 – 1886 ) , Southern American Poet : : : : FLYING from out the gusty west,To seek the place where last year’s nest,Ragged, and torn by many a routOf winter winds, still rocks aboutThe branches of the gnarled old treeWhich sweep myContinue reading “Visit Of The Wrens : Paul Hemilton Hayne : : Bird Poems : :”

To A Wren On Cavalry : Larry Levis : : Bird Poems : :

To a Wren on CalvaryBY LARRY LEVIS“Prince Jesus, crush those bastards …”—Francois Villon, Grand Testament It is the unremarkable that will last, As in Brueghel’s camouflage, where the wren’s withheld,While elsewhere on a hill, small hawks (or are they other birds?)Are busily unraveling eyelashes & pupilsFrom sunburned thieves outstretched on scaffolds,Their last vision obscured byContinue reading “To A Wren On Cavalry : Larry Levis : : Bird Poems : :”

The Wren : John Clare : : Bird Poems : :

Why is the cuckoo’s melody preferred,And nightingale’s rich songs so madly praisedIn poets’ rhymes! Is there no other birdOf Nature’s minstrelsy, that oft hath raisedOne’s heart to ecstasy and mirth as well?I judge not how another’s taste is caught,With mine are other birds that bear the bell,Whose song hath crowds of happy memories brought: —SuchContinue reading “The Wren : John Clare : : Bird Poems : :”