Bird Songs

Never Again Would Birds' Song Be The Same 

 by Robert Frost

He would declare and could himself believe
That the birds there in all the garden round
From having heard the daylong voice of Eve
Had added to their own an oversound,
Her tone of meaning but without the words.
Admittedly an eloquence so soft
Could only have had an influence on birds
When call or laughter carried it aloft.
Be that as may be, she was in their song.
Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed
Had now persisted in the woods so long
That probably it never would be lost.
Never again would birds' song be the same.
And to do that to birds was why she came.

                     *       *        *

The songbirds bring us music, as they sit upon the trees or telephone wires.  To the poet Robert Frost, the birds provide  "an eloquence so soft",  perhaps his indirect reference to the Love for his first wife, who died young. To Emily Dickinson the birds feathers brought "Hope".

    When we spend the time in the garden to listen to birds'  songs, we are carried aloft with the birds to something great or divine. When love is great it creates an everlasting music that will never be lost. Humankind needs "hope" to believe that love will last and this poem shows us both Frost's "faith" in Love and a belief that that humans and birds are connected in a sacred splendor. Perhaps in the music  birds bring us, we can here a lovers's laughter or a cherished voice speak "without the words". Certainly when you step out your front door one morning, you will find the songs make us remember the wordless beauty of love.

                             

Summer Wind

"And close your eyes, child, and look at what I’ll show you; 
Let your mind go reeling out and let the breezes blow you, 
Then maybe, when we meet, suddenly I will know you."  ~ Jerry Merrick, Singer -Songwriter

    The summer brings us many pleasurable activities: swimming, waiting for the ice cream truck, paddling down  the river in a kayak, and the sounds outdoor concerts.  In the poem Summer Wind,  William Culllen Bryant calls the day "sultry". That word has two meanings. The first refers to the weather and means hot and humid. The second meaning describes a person, usually a woman who is attractive in a way that suggests a passionate nature.

     This second meaning describes the what is happening to this person in the poem on this summer day. For a person in love, the wind is fragrant, sparkling and musical. When love finds you it caresses your heart, soul and skin. The silence of 

life becomes voluble. The breezes blow you and you know love is around you.

Summer Wind by William Cullen Bryant

It is a sultry day; the sun has drank
The dew that lay upon the morning grass,
There is no rustling in the lofty elm
That canopies my dwelling, and its shade
Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint
And interrupted murmur of the bee,
Settling on the sick flowers, and then again
Instantly on the wing. The plants around
Feel the too potent fervors; the tall maize
Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops
Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.
But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills,
With all their growth of woods, silent and stern,
As if the scortching heat and dazzling light
Were but an element they loved. Bright clouds,
Motionless pillars of the brazen heaven;--
Their bases on the mountains--their white tops
Shining in the far ether--fire the air
With a reflected radiance, and make turn
The gazer's eye away. For me, I lie
Languidly in the shade, where the thick turf,
Yet virgin from the kisses of the sun,
Retains some freshness, and I woo the wind
That still delays its coming. Why so slow,
Gentle and voluble spirit of the air?
Oh, come and breathe upon the fainting earth
Coolness and life. Is it that in his caves
He hears me? See, on yonder woody ridge,
The pine is bending his proud top, and now,
Among the nearer groves, chesnut and oak
Are tossing their green boughs about. He comes!
Lo, where the grassy meadow runs in wives!
The deep distressful silence of the scene
Breaks up with mingling of unnumbered sounds
And universal motion. He is come,
Shaking a shower of blossoms from the shrubs,
And bearing on the fragrance; and he brings
Music of birds, and rustling of young boughs,
And soun of swaying branches, and the voice
Of distant waterfalls. All the green herbs
Are stirring in his breath; a thousand flowers,
By the road-side and the borders of the brook,
Nod gaily to each other; glossy leaves
Are twinkling in the sun, as if the dew
Were on them yet, and silver waters break
Into small waves and sparkle as he comes.

Gegenschein

The word "gegenschein" means

A faint glowing spot or region in the sky, occasionally visible exactly opposite the position of the sun, consisting of sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust particles. Also called counterglow.

Even beyond theses particles are the stars.

                                    Bridge Over the Stars by Keiko Matsui

  

The right person lights up our earthly path like stars light up the sky. Hopefully, that love will never die. When we leave this world, I hope we will all meet our true loves again and travel with them on a "bridge over the stars".

Just Right

On a day when everything is just right, the rose opens, love expresses its hidden beauty and we embrace the joy of life.
In his novel Dr. Zhivago, Boris Pasternak writes:

     "He was so childishly simple that he did not conceal his joy at seeing her, as if she were some summer landscape of birch trees, grass, and clouds, and could freely express his enthusiasm about her without any risk of being laughed at."

   
The rose in this video above is part of the summer landscape. We watch something beautiful open slowly before us and it is a time to be grateful.

Again Pasternak reminds us:

    “When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it.”  

  Love also opens slowly and softly. The sweetness of this rose is heard in the music of the Ahn Trio.     

“Dies Irie,” ironically references not the traditional Requiem Dies Irae but the Jamaican patois phrase meaning, “Day of Everything Being Just Right.” Even rage evaporates into sweetness and beguiling rhythms. 

I Hear America Singing

"I am singing for Everybody on this planet."
    ~ Richie Havens

                                                 
    Walt Whitman wrote in "Leaves of Grass" that he could hear America singing.
When your mouth opens to sing something glorious happens. We become like birds flying beneath the sun.
    If we aim the light of love in the right direction, it will unlock all our barriers to resist it.
Marianne Williamson said in her book A Return To Love,
         "Love is within us. It cannot be destroyed, but can only be hidden."
    It is time for us to shine a new light on America. It is time to hear the different melodies that Whitman heard. That is the beauty of Love, Liberty and Freedom. All our voices matter, all our voices should be heard. The sound of America singing songs about love should be our loudest voice.