Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

poem-vicious October 26, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:57 pm
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Gathering evil intentions

Hell hath no fury

for 

what will people say

behind your back?

Consent.

Safe words.

He said.

She said.

You’re high on a pedestal

Scorned lovers

can be vicious,

Even if they’re crazy.

It’s not the falling off

the tall pillar that hurts,

it’s the sudden stop

at the

end.

 

 

 

 

video- likes authors

Here’s a Moxy Früvous performance for those spouses whose loved ones always have a nose between pages…

.

.

 

 

poem- Sunday

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:18 am
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Dirty clothes piled in the bath room,

Plates and projects in the living room

Books piled in the dining room

Clean laundry 4 feet high in the dressing room.

Everywhere there’s work to do

and I just want to cuddle you.

 

Mnemosyne October 24, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:02 pm

A re-post from 2011 when we thought my dad was going to die. Saturday, Oct 25 he is 100 years old. Which isn’t particularly relevant to re-posting this, except you might wonder if you think the post is current. But it’s not. 🙂

Shawn L. Bird's avatarShawn L. Bird

I’ve been thinking about memory.  That’s Mnemosyne’s area of responsibility.  My father is in hospital and when we visit, he is spending a lot of time with her.  Stories are told and re-told.  Stories of youth.  Of working days.  Of love.  Of betrayal.  It’s our stories that reveal what is important about us.

Mnemosyne saves the certain moments for us.  Why?  Do you sometimes savour a moment, specifically for the purpose of holding it?  Do you look at a gathering of loved ones, and feel yourself snapping a mental picture that you know will remain with you forever?  It becomes a picture that only you have.  It will alter, too.  You’ll colour it, crumple it, re-imagine it, until the image serves a purpose you want it for.

Is it a catalyst? A purpose?  A dream? An anchor?

Mnemosyne wraps us in the security of our past, and at her best…

View original post 44 more words

 

poem-seas

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 8:01 pm
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Skin ripples

Head surges

Stomach rolls

Body is a stormy sea.

 

poem-sacrifice

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:24 am
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An Argyll and Sutherland Highlander’s

simple service:

honour guard,

in respectful silence, stand proud

beneath a towering arch,

the bronze visages of

the nation’s memorial to those

fallen in foreign wars,

Keeping faith at the tomb

of the unknown soldier,

Clad in kilt  and jacket,

green as the fields of France,

red and white stockings over

shining white spats,

bronze warriors towering above

wept

as one of Princess Louise’s Highlanders

fell.

.

.

.

This poem references the powerful political cartoon by Bruce MacKinnon drawn in the aftermath of the shooting of Corporal Nathan Cirillo (a reservist with the Argylls and Sutherland Highlanders) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, October 22, 2014:

Here is Corp Cirillo guarding the national war memorial:

The Argylls and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada on parade.

(I thought I was just posting links to original sites, but the images are showing up. Copyright remains with original sources).

 

poem-contact October 23, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 4:35 pm
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Communication is so easy

Facebook, Twitter, text, phone

a million ways to message instantly:

No excuses for

your silence.

.

.

(I could also have entitled this, “Call Your Mother!”)  😉

 

poem-spun October 22, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:54 pm
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They can not see beyond the fog

that is all they seek.

Escape.

They fall altered into pharmaceutical

reality.

Mist like creeping mustard gas

poisons their future

stealing their hopes

ruining their dreams.

They fill their days

seeking nebulous security

altered beyond

recognition.

.

.

For those kids and their families battling with addiction who most need education and school supports to develop health and security.

 

poem-gold October 21, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 5:02 pm
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The ancient alchemists

would stand in awe

of forests transformed

into gold.

 

poem- former lovers October 20, 2014

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:05 am
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They speak of gifts

from former lovers:

vases

or black eyes,

rings

or babies.

They carry

former intimacies:

horrors and tragedies

traumas and ecstasies.

I have no

former lover,

I  carry only

years with you;

no horrors mar our history,

just monogamous longevity–

our effort at ontogeny.

.

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(Definition of ontogeny here) 😉