Friday, June 20, 2008

Matter of View

The thrust of today's poem, I think, can be summed up in one word: perception.

When the crow's call interrupted whatever I was doing, I found it rather grating ... actually, quite grating. It was like fingernails scratching across a chalkboard.

But after I gave it a bit of thought, it occurred to me that there might be another viewpoint, another way of hearing the crow's call, of seeing it as a means of communication, much as we humans try to communicate thoughts or information to each other.

Perception. It can lead to a better understanding of the world around us, if we'll let it.

Now, the poem:

MATTER OF VIEW

A crow's carping call

comes tumbling in

at my open window,

drowning out songbirds,

grating on my ears.

But to another crow

it's probably as sweet

as a baby's gurgle.

© 1995

(originally published in Capper's)

***

Today's word: gurgle

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know, crows drive me up a wall :)  I guess I have a beef with them for all the mornings in Maine they were so noisy!  

Anonymous said...

Robert,
Chelle sent me over here to take a look at your blog.  I’m glad she sent me.  You’ve got some good stuff here.  Congratulations on getting picked by our Guest Editor!  But what she doesn't know is that I take a peek at your poetry almost every day because I enjoy it so much.  Keep up the good work!
Uncle Bill