PAD Day 23: A Little Bird Watching

Today's dual prompts from Poetic Asides and NaPoWriMo: (1) write an "action" poem (describing just about any action), and (2) write "a poem based in sound". Maureen's examples for the latter all have to do with human voice and language, but I took it in a broader sense and focused on some nature sounds. As far as "action" goes... well, the action could be either the bird's or my watching the bird. Maybe both. Oh yeah: I also used this week's word bank from The Sunday Whirl blog - always helpful when I get stuck for something to say. This week's words were filter, rinse, call, startle, charm, try, on, limbs, bite, offer, mark, mingle. There are some pretty good action words in there.

Morning Flicker

The sound filters through my open window

as I rinse the breakfast dishes. The flicker's call

almost startles me, a sort of laughing warble

that heralds its arrival to a dying tree. 

There's a certain charm to it, and if you know it

you know what will follow - a sharp rat-a-tat-tat

on dry, hollow wood.  I try to triangulate

and pinpoint its location - a tall oak across the street,

still alive with leaves, but with several dead limbs

on one side. The drumming continues,

and I sight the bird - black polka-dotted wings,

a swatch of red on the back of his neck. His beak

will take a bite out of dry-rotted wood,

which will offer up hidden bugs and grubs.  

After a while he will move on, leaving his mark

behind, as he and other denizens of the trees

mingle into the other morning noises.