hemisphere,
sovereign,
free to be who he is,
no need for approval here,
He often drops in
where not welcome
on his own terms
admonishing seagulls and terns
Dinner jacket, a mottled
feathered matting of ivory,
keen eyes. generous beak,
a curved mandible to envy
In spite of his ample trough
for hoarding fish, not awkward
but glides low skillfully
skimming the sea,
gracefully changing his course,
elegantly using thermal winds to slip,
soar or float, a natural diver he
A good name for him might be
Paddy, Pavlov, or Pascal
not a vicious or ugly pest but rather a docile
simple duck with a handsome profile
A symbol of sorts of man's
ongoing ability to transform,
his right to freedom and mobility,
to fly openly,
border-less,
inspired to stopover,
pause, let go and move on
or change direction
Feeling inspired by every moment,
each one being a juncture of the soul's journey
to be enjoyed from one moment into the next
..avoiding extinction..
....thus far
Wow, so you are a painter too. Beautiful painting, and I loved the description of him with his dinner jacket and dropping in where he wants to, welcome or not.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary
DeletePavlov i think is a good name...and hey..wonderful watercolor painting as well...i used to do a bit of watercolor mine are quite...(let me think how to say it..) abstract...smiles
ReplyDeletelove how you paint him with your words as well..and that last part with the letting go...flying border-less..move..change direction...love the freedom in this..also the freedom of staying...nice.
ha....abstract maybe but from your soul ;)..it surprises me how much better the paintings I do look on the computer than in real life as they are impressionistic and messy; thanks Claudia..Pavlov it is ;))
Deletenice....very cool...love the visuals up front of the bird but nice turn as well in your parallel to us as well...and how we grow change and adapt...avoiding extinction...
ReplyDeletethanks, Brian, birds are such a good subject in poetry for their variety;)
DeleteOK - I am now extremely jealous. Not only do you have pelicans to write about, beautifully I might add - you can paint! My art teacher realised fairly quickly that giving paint, brushes and paper to me was a waste of at least 2 of them - and quite likely of all three.
ReplyDelete..nice of you to say, but I will check our your poem today and see....;)
DeleteLovely words and painting of the pelican Katy ~
ReplyDeleteI specially like how you captured his desire to be free, fly openly, be border-less ~
A double treat today ~ Smiles ~
..all birds, really, thanks, Grace, but he seems to be so independent from the rest;)
DeleteYou painted twice here - once with words and then the beautiful painting itself.
ReplyDeleteLoads of imagery. Beautiful.
Thanks, Gretchen..I'm slow getting to everyone today ;)
DeletePutting together the words with the watercolor makes for a wonderful combination of the literary and visual arts. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for ekphrastic poetry.
ReplyDeleteI have good examples to follow here at dverse, like you; I respond best visually to all things..thank you, Sam.
DeleteLoved how you described so clearly here. The comparison with humans near the end took it to a new level. Great poetry. And enjoyed your painting too :-)
ReplyDelete.thank you ;)
DeleteAlways lovely to be here, Katy.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that very much, thank you!
Deletesuperbly crafted and a delight to read. Thank you.
ReplyDeletethank you Dave
DeleteNice poetic profile. I think they look like cartoon characters and would be better at delivering babies than stalks because they have the pouch for it.
ReplyDelete;_)
Deletei love the atmosphere on your blog . . . a natural air which is hard to achieve with the blog format and perfect for this poem . . . i also paint and watercolour is a fine medium, colour and flourish, the joy of the mark . . . i also have a friend, a giant Polish fella, goes by the name of Pav . . . so i really found lots to relate too . . . i live by a river and the ducks are frisky at this time of year and couple up in the wee-small-hrs, waking me up . . . but i dont mind somehow, its quacking but its ok . . . i like your structure and shape and the lines are tight and the whole is spacious and makes me happy somehow . . . all the best:)
ReplyDeleteI live on a creek also with ducks..a chauvinistic bunch if you watch their natural instinctive habits ;) and thanks for the compliment..it just kind of happened..everything I do looka better on the blog than on actual paper, watercolor being less forgiving than acrylics or oils..just like to try various things..Pav sounds like a good friend...
DeleteNice! Wonderful sketch/painting. I love when I see a picture with a poem, it helps me to see what the author has seen. Thanks. Lovely write too.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful write!
ReplyDeletegraceful flight even across the desert in the middle of the northern territory australia, far from an ocean.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous in construction, message and presentation.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful use of words and image and conveys so well , Chris http://velvetmedia.wordpress.com/
ReplyDelete