Best Kingfisher Poems
I sat down by the river bank
And watched the water flow,
The rapids effervescing
Meanders running slow,
Then past the corner of my eye
A flash of colour sped,
The kingfisher in his splendour
Hunts the river bed.
Entry for
CONTEST 580,any form,any theme
Up to max of 8(E I G H T ) lines Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand. 25/3/19
Placed 3rd.
His beauty is frozen into one crystalline moment
like a sudden, brief breath… now here… now gone
a hunter, a kingfisher, is now descending
his beak is about to break into the tranquil seas
wings are taut against his shimmering blue body
like a colorful deadly dart, ready to strike
to pierce the water with perfect precision
and in a moment more, the sea will explode
into a magnificent display of splash and spray
as this extraordinary seabird claims his prize.
Written on 3/17/2022
"Look around and see how birds and animals disclose the secrets of self survival and display how their bodies are streamlined to excel in their art"- By Poet
In the twisting tangle of the mangrove
Where eye can’t see beyond leaves
Sits a kingfisher, very alert,
Without the smallest quirk or quiver.
Its wings are bluer than the blue skies,
And body brighter than the brightest gold.
It sits surveying intently the water,
Flowing down the river.
With its sharp polaroid eyes
It spies the shoal of fish,
Darting up and down.
Measuring the distance
It makes a sudden move,
Diving into the water.
All we see is a flash of amber and blue,
And the water suddenly splashing up,
With a harsh clinking sound.
Sweeping down, the bird comes up,
With a sloshing silver fish,
Dangling from its beak like an ornate pendant
And landing down on a dry twig.
The fish shuddering in its beak
Is gulped down in no time,
Then it wheels away
To its accustomed cover in the mangrove
To preen its feathers and resume
Its hunting game once again!
It sits there, this skilled angler,
Till the hilltops turn auburn,
And the far -flung sky, stygian.
Then it flies back seeking its far away nest
In some sandy burrow or cavern.
Hazed mist of morning
kingfisher iridescent ~
sticklebacks beware.
With acrobatic locomotion
hovering high above the ocean
the kingfisher hangs ready in the sky
to pounce upon his potential prey
waiting just below the waves
by releasing all his thrust
into a dive.
Splashing through the salty blue
foamy surface matter
catching what he came to find
as schools of moonfish scatter
in all directions near and far
down in their watery grave
the kingfisher rises out of this world
for which he was perfectly made...
A mesmerizing, tantalizing
example of nature's best
colorful flyer moving up higher
near barely a moment of rest.
Providing we humans with so little acumen
for noticing much at all
including the sounds they make all around
before their final free-fall.
Down
once again where a fish is no friend
and waves are made to be breeched
from blue velvet skies
the kingfisher flies
where no other bird or human can
reach.
Kingfisher
Bejewelled bird
Beneath the bridge
Emeralds and sapphires in
Flight
Along a shady mangrove through glens of green,
I romp around, the air teasing my curly hair;
And in a dash , a tiny fowl softly rattles life’s movements:
Harkening, harkening as its emerald crown bops
Much like the wave of rippled ponds… and I
gaze at this divinity of nature, her own secrecy.
Lush emerald wings flutter beside me
As if to trade stories of the life we own,
That my feet prance about beneath an olive sky
Gently weaving upon jade grasses on a mound…
This kingfisher warbles along tunes of joy and angst
Until the olive- varnished trees bow to us.
I somehow curtsy wondering how a birdsong’s trill
Can hush the mangrove, the entire glen;
All harkening in noble silence, undefined by night’s pose
While agate eyes of a kingfisher mirrors my own dreams,
A lady with cilantro feathers tinged with angst and joy
Drooling a canticle of solace…
as the bird roams far off into the late, late duskfall.
United Colors: Green, Contest for Silent One
3/ 03/ 2016
A mom kingfisher
Tried to catch a fish from pond
But dropped it at last!
Ins Wasser tauchend
Ein Eisvogel im schnellen Sturz
Fische seid wachsam
------------------------------------
Diving into the water
A kingfisher in a rapid fall
Fish be vigilant
----------------------------------------
Buceando en el agua
Un martín pescador en rápida caída
Peces tened cuidado
From a close distance
Watching the prey’s every move
The kingfisher dives!
brilliantly colored
scuba diving apparel ~
array on parade
prettily perching
fun, feathered festivity ~
eyes on the prizes
watching and waiting
intelligent inquiry ~
flickering movement
mobile suit gundam
beak poised in full readiness ~
instinctive appetition
diving without halt
flying somersault
NB: Other - Haiku Sonnet form created by David Marshall; 4 haikus plus a couplet of either 5.5 or 7.7 syllables, total of 14 lines.
a flash of teal blue
iridescent plumage gleams
fresh fish for supper
The Kingfisher.
This morning we are doing long division.
Yesterday was for freedom.
Long division is for today.
Yesterdays kingfisher is for tomorrow because
Long division will not wait.
Brilliant feathers gleaming in sunlight.
He darted; swooped for a fish.
My pencil is short, broken; chewed.
A shining writhing minnow; tiny.
Tiny, without a chance.
Sunbeams stream through high narrow windows,
Where feathered tree -tops waver.
Why are they so high?
When did we do short division Miss?
Sharpen pencils for today's long division.
Wrong means rapped fingers.
Yesterdays brook rippled like warm silk across my fingers.
He is out there swooping and diving.
Whilst long division is what we are doing in here today.
When did we do short division Miss?
Brown classroom; awash with ink stained desks.
Scabbed knees tucked, doing long division, as
Bird sounds pour through high narrow windows.
Why are they so high?
Sunbeams sprinkled yesterday's brook with magic.
Eyes are down for long division today.
Shouldn't short division come first Miss?
Birdsong streams through high narrow windows.
Why are they so high?
Today we are doing long – very long division.
Catherine Wilson
9-3-2018
loud whistles at night
a kingfisher on the prowl~
river fish are still
Contest: Let the Pens Flow - Haiku Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Jenish Somadas
Blue dulcet, spread out and new
soaring high across a glidden sky
entranced by dire drips of green
singing out another moonlit lullaby
A kingfisher of sorts, so honest and true
wings dipped in search of a sullen you
reaching out to where oceans walk
hearts wait, and gentle breezes talk
Finding her on the finest grains of sand
washed ashore from a far away land
the mother of pearl, radiant and bright
clasped to a past, giving up her fight
He swoops as if sent by the angels
she swoons, but his wings are too weak
he tries, but he no longer can fly
into midnight, they both silently sink