First Verse


By Pavel Chichikov

All of birdsong forms one speech

Meta-language – bog to beech

Mangrove swamp, tundra willow

Birds that use the wave as pillow

Singly-conscious, deep as wells

Making nests inside of bells,

Feeds the human mind that hears

Drop by drop inside the ears

Liquid thrush, veery's pipe

Chip and flutter of the snipe,

Robin's flute, jaybird's whistle:

The universal bird epistle


(Click here to follow Pavel's ongoing epic poem “The Shoulder of the Sun.” You may visit Pavel's website at http://www.greyowlpress.com.)

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