Bird Poems – Bev Tappan

RIVERWOODS POEMS: COLD WEATHER FRIENDS

Bev Tappan — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 21:35:49 +0000

COLD WEATHER FRIENDS

The juncos are back.

It feels like winter.

They’re sheltering in

The bushy blue spruce

Where finches have nested

In balmier weather.

They won’t fly south

In retreat from the cold

But keep on the move

Seeking out seeds

In sizable flocks

Giving us hope

Bringing us cheer

For another new year.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: ON THE CUSP OF SPRING

Bev Tappan — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 01:20:22 +0000

ON THE CUSP OF SPRING

It’s snowing again and yet

The yellow crocus has bloomed

On the lawn, the finches are back

To their nest in the blue spruce.

Flocks of robins have landed

Each to claim his purlieu

His own particular tract

In which to cock his head

And listen for worms. The bands

Of redwings have returned

To the pond. We hear their chirr.

A bevy of female mallards

Was seen on the tidal river

Along with a Canada gang

Of geese heading north. The cardinal

“Cheer cheer”s his mating call.

And yet it is snowing again.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: WAKE UP CALLS

Bev Tappan — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 02:17:16 +0000

WAKE UP CALLS

I heard the crows; their raucous cries

Awoke me from a restless bed.

I did not know what rude surprise

Their harsh insistence might portend.

The day was sunlit, clear and cold.

I saw no reason for alarm,

But on my neighbor’s patio

The usual bread for birds was gone.

And then it was I understood

What their complaints had been about.

No imminent evil was foretold,

Just calls to send their vittles out.

So let it be with all alarms:

False, and signaling no harm.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: ON OCTOBER 12

Bev Tappan — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 03:20:53 +0000

ON OCTOBER 12

A cacophony of geese flew by

As drivers all used to do

Honk, honk honking vociferously

In the streets of Lima, Peru.

As we watched, they shifted formation

Forming two separate Vees

But maintaining their congregation

With graceful and admirable ease.

We knew where they were headed

Though they were soon out of sight

Bound for warm waters, determined

To leave behind long wintry nights

And we applauded their foresight

Well aware that their instinct was right.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: BIRD LORE

Bev Tappan — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 20:57:19 +0000

BIRD LORE

“I saw an eagle in a tree!”

She cried. “I know it was an omen

That God intended me to see.

And yesterday I saw a hawk

On top of a telephone pole.

Oh how I wish it could have talked

And told me the meaning of it all.”

The pagans thought birds could predict,

And Indians tell us what they mean.

An eagle is a holy spirit.

A hawk is wisdom with vision keen.

There is much comfort in such beliefs

Though eagles do winter on our bay

And hawks seek prey on our highways.

CUBA POEMS: AT BREAKFAST

Bev Tappan — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 12:59:29 +0000

AT BREAKFAST

Blackbirds soar across

The al fresco cafeteria,

Alight on a plate of melon,

Dance on it, pick at it

And squabble about it

Until the diner approaches

And we consider whether

We should advise the lady

That her fruit has been pre-

Tasted and appreciated.

At last pity prevails.

We warn her of her visitors’

None too sanitary intrusions.

She settles for an espresso.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: THE COMING OF SPRING

Bev Tappan — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:21:00 +0000

THE COMING OF SPRING

It begins with the house finches

Reclaiming the blue spruce

In early February

Unfazed by lingering inches

Of snow or cold, using

Their last year’s sanctuary.

And then the cardinal calls

From behind the garages.

A crowd of robins assembles

To sample a pear tree’s largesse.

By now it is March. Snowdrops

And purple crocus are showing.

Maples turn red. Willows

Turn yellow. A circle

Of lady bluebirds flies close

To my daughter’s Dunstable windows.

Today is the first of April.

Forsythia blooms beside daffodils.

RIVERWOODS POEMS: NEIGHBORS

Bev Tappan — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 13:43:11 +0000

NEIGHBORS

The house finches are back! They

Did not wait for spring.

On February’s bitter days

They flitted insouciantly

In and out and about the

Prickly arms of my spruce tree,

Several of them for a while,

Last year’s nestlings perhaps,

Until an agreement was reached:

This year’s duo domiciled.

Meanwhile March has bustled in

With transient snow and wind.

Now that spring is in the air

They’re a happily settled pair.

ECUADOR POEMS: OUR PLANETARY PROBLEM

Bev Tappan — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 23:00:35 +0000

OUR PLANETARY PROBLEM

Our cabana overlooks an Andean

Valley lightly flecked with clouds

That keep these jungle forests green.

Before me hangs a feeder used by crowds

Of hummingbirds of every stripe and hue:

Tawny, black and white, scarlet or teal.

But this is an aerial warfare view

Far from a peaceful bucolic scene.

These winged warriors swoop and dart

At any color but their own,

Briefly sip with kindred cohorts

Then shoot the alien flyers down.

Who’s unlike me must be my foe:

A rule that every earthling knows.

ECUADOR POEMS: AT THE RIO COSANGA

Bev Tappan — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 22:53:16 +0000

AT THE RIO COSANGA

We left our San Isidro cabanas

And stopped at the bridge on the Rio Cosanga

To search for the elusive yellow duck

For which we were not to be in luck.

However, blue swallows sat on a rail

Preening and flipping their wings and tails,

Then dipping and swooping in widening arcs

Snapping up insects above the rocks

Where the river rushed in a foaming flood

Fed by the weeping clouds above.