I didn't know about Tim Low's book, Jill, I shall read that, but it's
fascinating how many bird lineages ultimately derive from ancient
Australasia: not only parrots but also pigeons and ALL songbirds. And even
the family corvidae, which truly packed its bags and left home.
And how they spread, those birds. Loud, brash, aggressive and populous,
like crowds at the MCG.
European Crows, though, in the harsh winters of the north, adopted the
worship of Loki, hence their sly superiority of intelligence :) :)
Best
Dave
On 22 March 2018 at 02:26, Jill Jones <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Thanks, David. The last lines were also the toughest to write, though
> maybe that's not uncommon in this game.
>
> And, yes, our magpies have nothing to do with corvids, they are
> passerines. Their calls are extremely complex and go on for quite a
> while. You can hear a lot of, umm, 'discussion' in our neighbourhood.
> In my adopted state, a version of them is called the 'piping shrike'
> (a designation not known anywhere else in Australia - that's SA for
> you).
>
> Maybe you've heard of Tim Low's book 'Where Song Began' which, though
> at times speculative, proposes that Australian birds are louder, more
> aggressive and intelligent than most other birds and also contends
> that they spread genetically around the globe.
>
> https://www.timlow.com/books/bird-book
>
> Cheers,
> Jill
>
> ________________________
> Jill Jones
> www.jilljones.com.au
>
> Latest book: Brink, Five Islands Press
> http://fiveislandspress.com/catalogue/brink-jill-jones
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Poetryetc: poetry and poetics"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent:Wed, 21 Mar 2018 17:05:06 +0000
> Subject:Re: Snap: with magpie
>
> Like this Jill, particularly love the closing lines.
>
> Yes, your magpies aren't of the Crow family at all, and have a
> syrinx, so
> they can warble. Ours though are among the most intelligent of all
> birds
> and can often be found discussing Wittgenstein by the Mathematical
> Bridge.
> :)
>
> best
>
> David
>
> On 21 March 2018 at 01:10, Jill Jones wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > TIME WOULD CHOOSE
> >
> >
> >
> > what is the magpie searching for next to the path
> >
> > all this summer we’ve felt only dust
> >
> >
> >
> > a tree has fallen, its sap taken by drought’s gravity
> >
> > and there’s a mash of branches like a burst moon
> >
> >
> >
> > I trace ancient blur in the floating night
> >
> > those tiny points spilling from the galaxy’s breast
> >
> >
> >
> > the creek is torpid and smells like a sour sea
> >
> > the bushlands seem to crackle and splinter like bones
> >
> >
> >
> > I can tell myself its natural that everything dies
> >
> > but when is death a place or time you would choose
> >
> >
> >
> > to lie down together with the soil and the stone
> >
> > to give up the air and the song in your mouth
> >
> >
> >
> > rather be with sky like that magpie and dreaming
> >
> > rather be vagrant than something you’d own
> >
> > [Note: the words ending each line of this poem are also words
> > ending
> > lines of various poems I've been reading this week on not
> dis-similar
> > 'themes']
> >
> >
> > ________________________
> > Jill Jones
> > www.jilljones.com.au
> >
> > Latest book: Brink, Five Islands Press
> > http://fiveislandspress.com/catalogue/brink-jill-jones
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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