a new bird species discovered in Asia

LIOCICHLA BUGUNORUM’s DEBUT


There you were,
Flitting your lives
From generation to generation
And we didn’t know
That you had alighted
With us on Earth.


How does it feel
To have the limelight
Shining on you,
So now we know
Your equipage –
Your black hat,
Your yellow rouge,
Your red and yellow sleeves
Ruffling in the wind,
Your black tail,
Your ivory boots –
And your song
That you sing
In the dawn?


Soon we’ll know
How you
Dip into the bowl,
Drink and swallow.
We’ll finally know
How you choose a mate,
And how you mate,
Hooking up for a frisson of desire.


Of course, why
You live and why
I write, why
These words, why
I cry, why
This world, wisely
Remain a mystery.

2007
 
This poem was first published in Ann Arbor Review in 2008.  It was included in the unpublished collection of poetry called The Operose Hierodule of the Muse, 2009.  Below is a book related to this blog.