Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Thief


Steller's Jay


plumage
in silver blue,
sooty crest of charcoal
worn like a thief’s mask, and it’s true,
she will
rob the songbirds’ freshly twigged nests
of eggs and chicks when seeds
and ash berries
run low


© 2013 Jennifer Wagner


A butterfly cinquain for Poetry Jam:  A Bird’s Eye View.  I don’t have my own photo of a Steller’s Jay but we see them often around here.  They are beautiful, loud and predatory.  For more about the Steller’s Jay go here. 

16 comments:

Brian Miller said...

one you def have to keep an eye on...interesting that nature made them look the part as well...ha.

Mary said...

Ah, they do look like a bird to be reckoned with. I like your cinquain, but feel very sorry for the birds whose nests it robs. Interesting the variety of creatures that are part of the balance of nature!

alan1704 said...

Very well done, i love that mask almost melodramatic. Creation is certainly interesting.

grapeling said...

good write, Jennifer - smiles ~ M

Laurie Kolp said...

That's why blue jays aren't my favorites, but they sure are beautiful (steller's jays not as much). Love your butterfly cinquain! = )

Wendy Bourke said...

The way you've threaded words that play off of each other through this piece is outstanding:

blue - true
crest - nests
sooty - freshly - berries
rob - run

and confers a lovely, lyrical flow.

rallentanda said...

A beautiful use of cinquain form.Well done!

Helen said...

WELL they may be beautiful but they are might pesky ... I'm a little afraid of them. Lovely, lovely poetry.

kelvin s.m. said...

...ha, bird version of batman... loved it! how sad to think one life must end for the survival of the other... never seen such kind of bird but i think it looks cool... smiles...

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

So true! Lovely write!

Peggy said...

I am familiar with the steller's jay from our mountain house at Big Bear Lake in Southern California. And they are such thieves! And they are faster and more subtle than bears when we are camping! But amazingly beautiful birds as well.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful poem, very true to nature.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

I love blue jays. We have them aplenty on the Island. But I didnt know they plundered nests. Ack!

Myrna R. said...

I guess their beauty is their camouflage. Who would suspect their true nature.

Sarav said...

Jennifer, those are one of my favorite birds--would only see them when we went to the mountains--beautiful butterfly cinquain!

Anonymous said...

beautiful poem of a beautiful bird. Our jays here in Britain are mainly pink - beautiful in their way, but Stellers really are something else. You're very lucky.