Saturday, January 2, 2016

Between a Hawk and a Hard Face

The art of Gerda Wegener

I spend my days 
between a hawk and a hard face.
You make my cage comfy, as cages go,
with perches aplenty,
and millet for snacks.
But there are still bars,
and the fact that you say you love me,
while needing to keep me captive.

I stare at the door all day
that opens and closes
only at your whim.
When I gaze contemplatively at the sky,
there is a faint remembering
that makes my wings itch.

Out there, in the vast expanse of cerulean blue,
lurk predators:
hawks, big cats, eagles, hunger, cold
..........and freedom.


posted for Fireblossom Friday at Real Toads: to write a poem inspired by the art of Gerda Wegener. A caged bird popped into my head and demanded she be given a voice.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Sherry--even small cats are predators! But freedom is still the ultimate enticement--a very well constructed poem. I was so happy to see pictures of the wonderful couple on FB--all looked so happy--many congrats! k.

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  2. The surprise of freedom lurking out there in the cerulean blue is a very interesting notion

    Best Wishes for a happy creative year

    Much love...

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  3. The surprise of freedom lurking out there in the cerulean blue is a very interesting notion

    Best Wishes for a happy creative year

    Much love...

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  4. This is an amazing poem, Sherry. i love how you describe the genteel captivity, which is so applicable to many social circumstances. I think it is natural to crave freedom, whatever the cost.

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  5. Yes! And which pulls and pushes more? Freedom every time!

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  6. Everyone needs their freedom!

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  7. Critters in your attic, Sherry? LOL. Better than static! Who doesn't "long for the freedom of all flying things"?

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  8. Gorgeous
    (http://imagtalks.blogspot.com)

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  9. So nice to give a caged bird a voice. It's so sad to take away an animal's nature. Love that last line.

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  10. Oh, the freedom. Your words took me along in introspection; my wings almost itched when I thought of the blue sky. Beautiful that despite all the risks, that freedom is so tantalizingly ours.

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  11. In all the dangers outside the cage lies the wind of freedom. You gave a perfect voice to the bird and the bird in each of us who feel the itch of wings wanting to live outside our cages.

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  12. In all the dangers outside the cage lies the wind of freedom. You gave a perfect voice to the bird and the bird in each of us who feel the itch of wings wanting to live outside our cages.

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  13. It is any time better facing the predators than no predators but all caged up. Happy hols Sherry!

    Hank

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  14. This has such a great opening, Sherry--I think of hawk and hard face in so many ways, one simply the older clearing of one's throat and a look in the mirror--just so cool. thanks. k.

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  15. and why, in my dotage, I've come to abhor zoos. we're the species that makes cages... ~

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  16. I love the perspective from which you wrote - so accurate I think of the emotions and I love the list of fearful elements in the end but the freedom which out weighs fear. Beautiful, Sherry!

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