Only The Blackbird Poem by C Richard Miles

Only the blackbird,
Rustling in the half-brown hedge
For berries bright uneaten,
Caught sight of me
That chill November morning
Since, so fleetingly, I passed you by
Upon my dismal duty,
As see-through as the mizzled mist
Dropped down from weeping starshine.

Only the blackbird,
Scratching in the straggly shrubs
For seeds, still loosely scattered,
Caught sounds of me
That musky, dusky dawning
Since, so noiselessly, I passed you by
Upon my earnest errand,
As silent as the dewdropp tears
Cried cold from dying grassblades.

Only the blackbird,
Rootling in the ice-bound soil
For earthworms weakly wriggling,
Caught scent of me
That sleepy, world-worn moment
Since, so tenuously, I passed you by
Upon my mournful mission,
As scentless as the biting breeze
Breathed black from sighing treetops.

Only the blackbird,
Singing in the brightening blue
For love of life around him,
Brought news of me,
When sun was softly shining
Since, so secretly, I passed you by
Upon my long, last leaving,
As homeless as migrating geese
Flown far from frost’s fierce harshness.