muffle-toed in holy Mary's churchyard
a nine nest rookery rocks queasily
topping off the bare brazen beech
congregants wend the wayward path below
to the great carved door, bowed by wet west winds
or a North-easterly that comes gusting round
medieval mildewed stones
biting through to all the human bones

the grave-groping root-grubbing builders
have done with twig and twine revivals
cacophonous grumblings of whose is what
and what is where, dark-vowelled now
still as sylphs, the pair-bonds stand sentinel
or sit before the births, bloody gash of gaping mouths
plundering down to a white-faced hunger 
for worms and fledgling flesh 

lark-high in the belfry's humming hymnal
the baked-earth chimney stacks, Jack black daws bicker
and twitter in fast flowing flights of fancy
on an adjacent thorn, a crow couple, flint-eyed and steely  
strop their beaks to a clean, fine edge
dusk settles hush-hush on sloe-eyed April
and two bell-voiced birds ascend to evensong
in one long dust-tongued
decaying
duet

47 thoughts on “A world of wings and cries”

1. Oh what a wonderful atmosphere you give… the compound words and the assonans of the poem adds so much… those two crows in the tree, as well as the scenery of a leaf-less graveyard with words of bones and dust… love it.

   1. thank you for your appreciative comment Bjorn – this was a scene that imprinted itself and then I had the chance to put it into the imagery of DT – no other would do

2. The gothic atmosphere in this is wonderful. You’ve worked the language through this so well.

   1. many thanks for your feedback Carol – I aimed to evoke Dylan Thomas and Spring but the setting plus rooks strayed into Graveyard Poetry!

3. Nice sound throughout. I like the thought of that rookery rocking in the wind and evening’s decaying duet.

   1. glad you picked up on the sounds Frank – they are the music of word that DT loved so much

4. Oh joy, we can create our DT-cloned poetics; what a fantastic prompt! Your poem illustrates your prompt with gusto and charm. It even feels like a poem of the past, something left on a Church posting in Milkwood. You had me at /plundering down to a white-faced hunger for worms and fledgling flesh/.

   1. Can hear the joy of words from you Glenn – I have lived and breathed Milkwood. Glad you chose those particular lines as they slipped in without any effort – a gift from the old music master perhaps

5. I love this, Laura, from the title right to the final word! You’ve captured the rhythm of the wind in the line ‘a nine nest rookery rocks queasily’ and the alliteration makes it so rich. The scene is painted in such detail, with the ‘medieval mildewed stones’, root-grubbing builders’ ‘cacophonous grumblings of whose is what / and what is where’, the ‘Jack black daws bicker’(faint echoes of Under Milk Wood there!) and dusk settling ‘hush-hush on sloe-eyed April’. Delectable writing!

   1. I can only say ‘thank-you’ Kim – a word compound that doubles up the gratitude!

6. I love the sounds of this–and there’s some humor, too, I think, as in “the grave-groping root-grubbing builders” with their “cacophonous grumblings.” I like the alliteration and the atmosphere you create.

   1. rooks do amuse me so evidently the humour came through – have a penchant for alliteration so following in the footsteps here of Thomas gave vent to that

7. I would love to hear this read aloud. You’ve painted a world here.

   1. I almost recorded it since it was supposed to be about sounds – but then each reader hears the words for themselves

      1. Ah yes.

8. This was fun to read. My favorite phrases are: “Jack black daws bicker / and twitter in fast flowing flights of fancy.” Plus I love those last few lines.

   1. thank you for your appreciation Linda

9. You might have gathered that I am a big fan of rooks. I love this portrait of them – the intelligence, the reputation of evil, the whole graveyard thing. So many great lines, and great use of those compound words. I LOVE THIS PROMPT!!!

   1. I too am a rookophile – corvids in general – and thank you Sarah – your LOVE shines through your lines

10. I savored each line, each movements, until the beautiful duet in the end:

    and two bell-voiced birds ascend to evensong
    in one long dust-tongued
    decaying
    duet

    Such a wonderful prompt – thank you for hosting Laura.

    1. thank you for asking Grace – and for all your support

11. You have given us such a great example of how to use the Dylan words

    1. thank you for that – I enjoyed my challenge once I got going – I hope you found it so

12. Most excellent.

    1. thank you

13. ahhhhhh. the visuals so clear painting this haunting atmosphere.

    and then the final duet. beautiful!

    1. many thanks – glad you enjoyed

       1. yes, i did. you’re welcome, Laura.

14. Really love this so picturesque of the birdlife!

    1. this prompt was a good opportunity to paint with words 😉

       1. indeed and it’s certainly opened new doors for me thanks Laura 🙂

15. I liked this one very much. The word compounds slip seamlessly into the lines without drawing attention to themselves. You’ve made them your own.

    1. appreciate your comment Jane as had hoped not to over emphasise them even though I rarely use such illustrative words

       1. You didn’t. To my taste, too many of us over-used them, sometimes where they muddled rather than created the right image.

          1. I felt the tendency to throw in lots of ingredients and had to remind myself that the best soups are not minestrone 😉

             1. Dustbin soup, my husband calls them 🙂 A poet knows when to stay her hand 🙂

16. The subject is perfectly rendered with your words…dark birds and churchyards, the silhouettes and sounds echoing against the sky. (K)

    1. thank you K – I like the end rhyme of birds and churchyards

17. Difficult to pick out the excellent lines of this but

    ‘plundering down to a white-faced hunger
    for worms and fledgling flesh’

    grabbed me the most.
    Great work.

    1. thanks Shirley – that one came out of the blue as it were

18. This is wonderful Laura, and I love the scene you’ve painted withyour words. Some great Thomas-like compounds as well! Haunting photo.. 🙂

    1. thank you – aimed to emulate the Welsh bard and slip his own word compounds alongside mine seamlessly 😉

19. Yes, a recording would be fun for this fantastic piece.

    1. this style is certainly made for voices but so often I do not enjoy the writers readings including Thomas and Eliot

20. A sumptuous feast of gothic imagery and alluring alliteration. I imagine Dylan Thomas would be proud! 🙂

    1. Thank you Frank for such uplifting feedback

       1. My pleasure, Laura! 😇

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