A Scrappy Little Nest

Flightless, the smallest such bird,
he’s hopping about madly now,
dexterous little feet grab what they can -
he lost his beak decades ago
to a merciless marauder drone –
here, some tiny, thorny little twigs,
there, a footful of leaves nearly blown by
among better leaves flown by.
The wind is relentless,
he’s never known it more violent,
but he hasn’t known it any calmer either.
It’s already blown tons of wisdom
whistling past and around him,
that airborne car nearly hit him,
the airborne fridge was even closer,
but he’s lucky to be small enough
to be narrowly missed
and able to find little crevasses
to hide in when he needs a rest.
The smallest flightless bird,
he  might take involuntary flight
in the clutches of absurd winds,
but somehow he stays on the ground.
The frayed old edge of a dog-blanket
is next  across his path,
blown from the prison out south,
and he’s got it ! He grabbed it !
Well done, flightless little rascal.
Everything he’s gathered
will be the scrappiest little nest
ever known to man or bird,
he’ll clumsily patch it all together
in the smallest tree
(he, of all birds, needs a small tree),
small as his greatest preconceptions,
strangely anchored by the deepest root
known to brainwashed man or tree.
The wind, so crafty, is drunk with power,
it might blow that mountain
against the side of a bigger mountain,
they’ll both be scarred
for a good few minutes at least.
But that ragged little nest will be built
and he’ll simply never leave it,
he’ll make it scrappier by the day.

19th December 2018

Copyright © | Year Posted 2018



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Date: 1/9/2019 11:05:00 AM
Hello Lawrence Sharp, this little bird is very clever. He is determined to build his nest for rest and safety. have a nice day my friend.
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 1/10/2019 11:41:00 AM
Thank you, Darlene, visit and comment much appreciated.
Date: 12/22/2018 8:52:00 AM
oh beautiful! so beautiful... I love this so much. Merry Christmas
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/23/2018 2:43:00 AM
Thanks, Funom, and a very Merry Christmas to you too.
Date: 12/20/2018 1:42:00 PM
Have to admire this bird's persistence, Lawrence. Animals have an amazing will to survive and you created a character in this bird that had me cheering for him. Such a pleasure to read -- and I think I read the earlier version. Best wishes for the holidays! Hugs, Carolyn
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/20/2018 11:25:00 PM
Thanks for visit and comment, Carolyn, very pleased you enjoyed. Here's hoping your festive season is a really good one.
Date: 12/20/2018 1:18:00 PM
a twist at every turn, Lawrence, and live on! Good poem!
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/20/2018 11:23:00 PM
Thanks, James, glad you like it. Yes, he lives on, stumbling from ungainly thought to ungainly thought.
Date: 12/19/2018 1:37:00 PM
I thought that I had read and fav'ed this one before. Regardless, this is a very fine poetic illustration of a bird that seems to exhibit many of the tenacious qualities in men. That never give up tenacity that brave and dedicated men have. A fav..
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/19/2018 8:25:00 PM
Yes, posted a week ago, but quickly removed when I determined that the image was not correctly presented. I've come back now with a couple of small, but important, adjustments. Thanks for faving again, though, your commendation is always greatly valued.
Date: 12/19/2018 1:31:00 PM
impressed by the detailed process of your theme on bravery...lawrence, like birds, men can summon their will to prevail... beautiful!..huggs
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/19/2018 8:20:00 PM
Thank you, Nette, very glad you enjoyed; such glowing praise really appreciated.
Date: 12/19/2018 8:52:00 AM
Blew me away. A fave. x
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/19/2018 10:15:00 AM
Thanks Maureen, very pleased that you enjoyed, and thanks so much for fave, bird girl.
Date: 12/19/2018 7:29:00 AM
I remember reading a similar poem you wrote not long ago? Enjoyed reading the story of the smallest bird who knows how to survive amid all the unrest..a tenacious little bird this is--perhaps a metaphor for humans. Well written, Lawrence.
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Lawrence Sharp
Date: 12/19/2018 8:47:00 AM
Thanks for visit and comment, Vijay, glad you like it. I actually posted this piece a week ago, but I came to realizing that I had probably got the delivery all wrong, so I removed it a few hours later. I've made some important edits which I hope make it more of what I had in mind.
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