Hamerkop

Cherry

By onemorething

Thu, 01 Oct 2020
  • 1354 reads
6 comments
 

Today I will not die again,

I go on and on,

inherited by a passage of witches;

here is the morning light, violet

to cover vanished moon, a sleight

to daily wake to, 

alert to my biology. 

I am ice and I am water;

a confusion of states

in my flexible chemistry. 
 

I have never been myself,

and you might be right to ask 

what we could be then,

if not ourselves: yet this day

I am a hamerkop,

feathered by a thunderclap,

mother to lightning - 

in the concentration of static,

my physics branches from the sky.

 

I will wade a mangrove,

fish for the secrets of storms,

I will bury my name,

an egg for you to dig for,

I will build nests of ions

that bristle with electricity,

I will return to the clouds

changed, charged,  

once more bruised, but alive

for tomorrow, for to you wonder

why I am so preoccupied with death

and I will have no satisfactory response,

you will place a new heart in my chest,

but it will not beat there. 
 

Image is of a hamerkop (in folklore sometimes presumed to be the Lightning Bird)  from wikimedia commons: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamerkop_(Scopus_umbretta)_(12716718055).jpg

Image also on Twitter: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aelbert_Cuyp_-_Thunderstorm_over_Dordrecht.jpg

 

 

Certificate 12
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I like this line very much : " I have never been myself"

also how you describe the nest, which made me think it is made of sparks, and what a let down life must be after that as your first memory

the bird in your photo looks like it takes its folklore very seriously

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Well, folklore is a very serious business, as we all know, so I would hope that a Lightning bird feels the full gravity of it. And yes, after a birth of sparks, no wonder they look for storms. Thanks for reading it, Di. :)

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Rachel,

I've just been reading about these birds and their amazing nests. It's good to know that they are protected by folklore, but It's sad to think that it's association with witchcraft has so much fear linked to the hamerkop.

Having been a practising hedge witch, I've always been saddened at the constant battering witches recieve. I know there are some who call themselves witches and do voodoo, putting curses on people,  but I find most witches stick to the principle of what you give out, you get back three fold.

Your poem gave symbol to this bird and gave me food for thought.

Jenny.

 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Yes, their nests are fantastic. It is a shame that they are connected to witchcraft in any negative sense, no creature is a bad omen, but it seems to be a very human trait to look for answers in superstition, particularly in the absence of other answers. And I suppose to look to blame. It's a very complicated topic from a social and cultural perspective. Thanks for reading it, Jenny, glad it offered food for thought. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Ewan on

the lightning bird will be out and about today.

This is terrific poetry.

E x

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Ewan. And no lightning for me yet, just a lot of rain. We may all be wading birds by the end of the weekend. Rachel x