Starling
Ugly duckling,
Squawking box.
Through the winter
flecked with spots.
Dull and dissed,
until new sheen,
reflects the sun
of welcome Spring.
Polished that little ditty off in about 10 minutes. Then I googled "starling poems" to see if it'd already been done. Yup. Great contrast. Doggerel. Poetry.
Starlings In Winter by Mary Oliver
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4 comments:
Yes - they are beautiful. I have little ill will for them. They come, they go (at least at my house). It is the House Sparrow I save my wrath for, because they peck at my sandstone and push up my roof tiles.
Oh, I like these - it's as though they've been delicately edged with gold.
Outstanding, both photos and poem. I used to hate them until the year the alfalfa weevil wiped out local hay crops. The more prosperous farmers were spraying and spraying all kinds of very expensive pesticides to save their hay. Not an option for us. And then the starlings came in hordes like the gulls in Utah and ate the weevils. We had as nice a hay crop as anyone. They get a pass from me now, although i wish they would stay out of the attic eaves.
Jonna . . :-D
Yes ! They are beautiful and Not eating your house would be at the top of my criteria list for picking favored bird species.
Julie . .. Isn't it interesting that what is commonly considered a pesky unlovely bird . . on closer inspection . . is rather lovely ? :)
Marianne . .. Thank you :) And that is an interesting story. And so interesting to live as you do . . up close to the ways of the real world. Watching it unfold in front of you . . with all the implications it effects on our lives.
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