~Winnie the Pooh
Happy Poetry Friday! Glad you're here. It's National Poetry Day in the U.K. (on Oct 3rd) so huzzah for that!
One morning this week when I walked outside with my dogs, we startled an owl. It flew away but not too far, so I got a good look at it. How thrilled was I? Exceedingly! I told my neighbor, who said he'd seen that owl a couple of times before and he shared this picture:
He took this photo out his window! I have been looking for our owl ever since. When I was searching for an owl poem, I found this gorgeous one about starlings. It could make a good mentor poem! What if humans could move like a pod of whales or a caravan of camels? (You can find animal group names here.)
Murmuration
Emily Schulten
If we move with the fluidity of starlings,
like a puddle of clippings in the air that shape-
shifts but never falls hard to the ground,
if we sense enough of each other to know
in which direction to fly away from being
preyed upon, but never from one another,
in swirls and with the unshakable faith
that wherever we turn we will be synchronal,
miming in a language only our bodies
comprehend the intention of our design...
read the rest here
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Wow! Look at that owl. And yay for poetry!!!
ReplyDeleteOooh, Tabatha, what a lovely poem, and that owl is beautiful! Thanks for stepping in to host at the last minute!
ReplyDeleteIf ... starlings. So pretty. I wish this were possible. Thank you for hosting on such a good poetry day! I'd love an owl like that to admire in my trees. I saw one owl during a snowstorm a few years ago sitting on a street light. It was quite a sight.
ReplyDelete"leave space enough" - The thoughtful actions of living. It is truly beautiful, Tabatha. People share when they see those awesome murmurations & I love it when they do. Thank you for this, for that amazing owl picture from your neighbor, & for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to see an owl and the starling poem is a good mentor text. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Tabitha :) Emily's words capture the fluid clouds of birds so well. I love the parallel meaning I see — of community working together and supporting each other. We are better together than we are alone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting today, Tabatha, and for the sharing the awesome owl photo and starling poem. What a treat is to see nature's wonders up close.
ReplyDeleteThere's an owl in our neighborhood that calls daily to his rescuer, a neighbor who raised him from a wee thing to the grand bird he is today. I have such respect for owls. Thanks for the mentor poem. I'd love to teach my students about murmurations. They are indeed fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the excitement of seeing an owl -- whenever we spot one in our woods, it feels miraculous. They're so fascinating!! Enjoyed the starling poem too -- another miracle of nature. Thanks for hosting this week!
ReplyDeleteOh to move together with "unshakeable faith" -- Having just finished a weeklong road trip on the Southern Civil Rights trail, this poem is a prayer. Thanks for jumping in to host, Tabatha!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous poem Tabatha, moves so naturally throughout, and gives us some extra breaths. Reminds me of Theo Jansen’s Sand Beast kinetic sculptures, if you can’t find them I’ll send you a link, they are fascinating! Thanks for all, and the 🎃! xox
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Tabatha. Iit flows like the murmuration itself! Thanks for hosting, and for the book order, too - just signed them yesterday!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting and for sharing that beautiful murmuration poem-- it spoke to me today! I needed that reminder of alone<>together.
ReplyDeleteTabatha, thank you for hosting today. The poem about starlings is beautiful. In Iowa, I used to watch starlings doing this magical dance. Oh, for those who help us "tighten our formation, but leave
ReplyDeletespace enough not to tangle feather or wing" Beautiful poem and owl. Such a powerful bird!
Tabatha ~ like Denise and so many others, I loved the fluidity...and especially the lesson for us all: "leave
ReplyDeletespace enough not to tangle feather or wing." May each of us learn to listen to nature...<3
I would love to see an owl in the wild, Tabatha! So wonderful. We hear them at night hoot-hooting to each other but I can never seem to find them on our daily walks. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the owl photo and that new to me mentor poem. I am glad there are people in my world that get excited about the birds they see.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stepping up to host.
Tabatha, lucky you to see that owl! Beautiful. And that unshakable faith...Have you read We Are Starlings, which came out last year? Beautiful book, and I loved the back matter talking about the science of it. Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting today, Tabatha! Schulten's poem is gorgeous. How I wish we could "sense enough of each other to know/in which direction to fly away from being/preyed upon, but never from one another..." Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of your owl sighting! I have seen one at my son's house (not too far from you, I think, in northern VA), but not the barred owl who inspired my poem.
It's a good day when one spies an owl...and there are some great videos on youtube showing the starlings doing their thing. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love a good owl sighting - even if only the sound.
ReplyDeleteSuch a gorgeous poem. And gorgeous owl! Perfect for October, too. Thanks for sharing & for hosting this week! xo
ReplyDeleteWow! How cool about the owl and that your neighbor caught a photo. Hope you get to see the owl again soon. Thanks for sharing "Murmuration." I especially love the last line.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for hosting Poetry Friday and for including my TeachingAuthors post. I've been out of town but look forward to catching up on the PF posts this week!