Where no birds breathe, bird-magic breathes
Bird-beauty, bird-spirit, bird-splendour,
And brings where no bird wings,
Wing-beats that woo me to wonder.
What do I want when a woman can warm
Bird-magic from her bosom, her womanly arms?
Her lips that are petals, her thighs that are trees,
Boughful with blossoms of softness and ease?
What is the liquid that lingers with love
In her voice? Is the music that hangs in her eyes?
The dewdrop.that dangles from finger-tip touch?
The mellifluous magic that moves me so much?
This is no bird-magic:
This is woman, who with a sweep of her hair
Sends birds bursting to wings in the air.
This is woman, whose frown
Droops dark feathers down.
This is woman; her smile, her kiss, her holding in arms,
Hold more bliss for me than bird-charms.
I read this poem again today, and it is by far my favorite of all the poems I have read on this web sight. In fact, this just may be my favorite poem ever. I am adding it to my list of favorites. Thank you again for a great poem.
I love your word-coinage ('boughful') . The last stanza is breath-taking with its magic sounds or should I say Tan-magic! A lovely Ode to women. Susie.
Wow! This is what I call a great poems! You've left nothing for the critics...this poem flows like a river, the imagry was awesome and he delivery was very powerful! Excellent work, Tan!
Good. The last line falls a little flat. Given your real subject - your ideal Woman - I'm made to wonder what birds and bird-magic have to do with it. I suspect you're using the ancient analogy of birds with spirits, in their being unfettered by gravity; if so, you needed to make the parallel, and contrast, a little more plain. For the age you wrote it, this is quite promising work.
I really enjoyed this. It's rare to fall in love with any poem on the first reading. I love the alliteration. It is such a rarity nowdays.
I like this very much, it sounds like you have a great fantasy and imagination about women in a rather soft and magical way. I feel the thoughts are tender and whole. I truly like this poem. Thankyou.
Some inspiration going on here. Very nice tribute to a womans charms and perhaps something more, a mother earth persona? The goddess bows/boughs beneath your words. Nice work!
What a gorgeous gem. I do hope you find it in you to continue writing once more.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I really like this one. It is interesting because for me it gradually brings out from the unconscious mind a universal and unspoken woman of dreams, a woman of nature and myth. I am not sure that what I am saying makes complete sense on a rational level, but again, I really like this poem because it is like a snapshot of the unconscious, a fully formed dream. I am curious as to how much of the poem you had to continuously revise and how much of it simply sprang forth all at once.