A winter wren

Published on by Laura Bloomsbury

“Hedge-bandit, song-bomb, dart-beak, the wren
hops in the thicket, flirt-eye; shy, brave,
grubbing, winter’s scamp, but more than itself –
ten requisite grams of the world’s weight…”

You do not need to see us -
not being made for eyes and gasps
of admiration. God fashioned frames
feather light, to flit and and fly, shy
as mice. A tiny torso, brown and round
speared with a stubby flagpole tail
to signal any alarm

You will not see our likeness
fronting cards at Christmas
bold breasted as Robin
nor hear our tik-tik clarion cries
fleeing like fox before hound
in those seasonal days, long gone
when men and boys hunted us down
as tokens of fertility -such futility

No, we were neither meant 
for your gaze nor scapegoat
in that puerile pagan rite.
Now every St Stephen's day
we pray that winters will be kinder
to our kin,  and come the Spring
we'll sing with such symphonic sound
musicians will marvel at the melodies
and poets beg their Muse to grant them
declamations, elegant as ours.

Epigraph from Carol Anne Duffy’s poem ” The Wren Boys” – an ancient practice when wrens were hunted and stoned on St Stephen’s day, December 26th

For her Poetics prompt: December Point of View, Melissa  asks us to select one from a given list of birds and animals associated with Christmas/December and write a poem of personification, I chose first person plural for the Wren – it being a favourite bird and one of concern in harsh winters. – see British Trust for Ornithology: Wren Facts, winter decline and song recordings

29 thoughts on “A winter wren”

  1. I recently got an app that recognize bird song and loo and behold it was so often the wren a bird I rarely have seen. In Sweden it is the second smallest bird, only the goldcrest is smaller…

  2. As a celebration of the simple ostentatious winter wren, this is profound with affection and admiration. The first stanza is so beautifully descriptive of its qualities, all of it so lovely, Laura.

  3. I love “our tik-tik clarion cries”,

    and “and come the Spring
    we’ll sing with such symphonic sound
    musicians will marvel at the melodies
    and poets beg their Muse to grant them
    declamations, elegant as ours.”

    What a splendid ending. You’ve definitely given wrens a voice here. I love what a wonderful job you’ve done.❤️

    1. many thanks Melissa- I wanted to bring out what would be lost if these birds were still stoned on St Stephens day. Also thank you for this prompt Melissa and for giving this tiny bird a rare sighting in the spotlight.

  4. I so enjoyed your winter wren, Laura. We get them in our garden regularly. I love all the names you give for the wren, especially hedge-bandit and winter’s scamp. I also love that you included cultural and historical references. I like the sounds in:
    ‘…God fashioned frames
    feather light, to flit and and fly, shy
    as mice.’

    1. thank you for your appreciation Kim. those lovely names belong in Duffy’s poem from the epigraph but am guessing they are part of our folklore

  7. I enjoyed this poem immensely. I reread it many times to hear your internal rhymes again and again. I connected “need to see us” as a rhyme for Christmas, and it made me joyous.

    1. Maria, I especially savour feedback on the structure of the poem and your focus on the internal rhymes was much appreciated since I I favour them more than end rhymes and hence always try to build them in

  8. This is an amazing ode to the winter wrens. Love it when spring comes, they’ll sing with symphonic sounds and elegant melodies.

  9. A great poem, Laura. I love the wren. He is such a cute little bird, flitting all around and his piercing voice is amazing for such a small creature!

  10. A brilliant poem. I wonder if those wrens are like our little fairy wrens, they sound similar. I can’t imagine anyone hunting wrens it’s so awful, such delightful creatures. I do know that the male fairy wrens are prolific breeders and will breed with many females in the space of an hour which may explain the silly hunting of them.

    1. than you for your appreciation. In the UK we only have one wren species with two sub species but they are polygamous and huddle in flocks through the winter which may account for their being sexually sociable – that and having to make up the numbers after winter decimation

  11. I love wrens. I see a lot in my garden and often stop to listen to their sweet song, so loud a sound to come from so small a bird. I didn’t know they were hunted, such idiotic myths surround fertility.

    Love the poem.

  12. I like your internal rhymes, rather like birdsong, slightly erratic, without our contrived rhythms.
    Our cruelty is boundless. Thank goodness this practice at least has stopped. We have wrens living here, and that quick, mouse-like flash as they zip past the window from bush to bush is like seeing ghosts.

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