Poem
James Harpur
Kevin and the Blackbird
Kevin and the Blackbird
Kevin and the Blackbird
I never looked, but felt the spiky feetPrickling my outstretched hand. I braced my bones,
My heart glowed from the settling feathered heat
And later from the laying of the eggs
Heavy, as smooth and round as river-rolled stones,
Warm as the sun that eased my back and legs.
When I heard the cheepings, felt the rising nest
Of wings, the sudden space, the cool air flow
Across my fingers, I did not know the test
Had just begun – I could not bend my arms
But stood there stiff, as helpless as a scarecrow,
Another prayer hatching in my palms –
Love pinned me fast, and I could not resist:
Her ghostly nails were driven through each wrist.
© 2007, James Harpur
From: The Dark Age
Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry, London
From: The Dark Age
Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry, London
Poems
Poems of James Harpur
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Kevin and the Blackbird
I never looked, but felt the spiky feetPrickling my outstretched hand. I braced my bones,
My heart glowed from the settling feathered heat
And later from the laying of the eggs
Heavy, as smooth and round as river-rolled stones,
Warm as the sun that eased my back and legs.
When I heard the cheepings, felt the rising nest
Of wings, the sudden space, the cool air flow
Across my fingers, I did not know the test
Had just begun – I could not bend my arms
But stood there stiff, as helpless as a scarecrow,
Another prayer hatching in my palms –
Love pinned me fast, and I could not resist:
Her ghostly nails were driven through each wrist.
From: The Dark Age
Kevin and the Blackbird
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