Promise O. Agoyi
Birdsong
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
~ Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird.
To sing the language of a breaking heart, one needs a bad
soprano/ & lyrics from a poem. Pluck the heartstrings of a bird
& listen—see—see if they do not hum sweeter than any violin.
What causes a bird to halt its flight but the nostalgia of a building requiem?
You passive human—do you know nothing? What's a better cage for a song, if not a bird?
Free as a bird
Neither is free; not the chained nor the chains—& a flying
cage is/ still a cage/ a bird.
A bird's plume—is a funeral bouquet; if
feathers novate flowers & in place of tears are dirges.
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird, because--when a mockingbird sings,
angels look on—awed—as if at an opera
Once, I shot a mockingbird for singing too loudly. & the last thing it did--
was cock its head in that curious, resigned nature of birds
As if to say--
To sing is [human]—not to sing is divine
~ Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird.
To sing the language of a breaking heart, one needs a bad
soprano/ & lyrics from a poem. Pluck the heartstrings of a bird
& listen—see—see if they do not hum sweeter than any violin.
What causes a bird to halt its flight but the nostalgia of a building requiem?
You passive human—do you know nothing? What's a better cage for a song, if not a bird?
Free as a bird
Neither is free; not the chained nor the chains—& a flying
cage is/ still a cage/ a bird.
A bird's plume—is a funeral bouquet; if
feathers novate flowers & in place of tears are dirges.
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird, because--when a mockingbird sings,
angels look on—awed—as if at an opera
Once, I shot a mockingbird for singing too loudly. & the last thing it did--
was cock its head in that curious, resigned nature of birds
As if to say--
To sing is [human]—not to sing is divine
Commentary
Promise on “Birdsong”:
If I write a poem, I do it carefully. Almost as if I were nurturing a child, lost in equal amounts of ecstasy and sadness. Maybe that is why I am always left rattled when I am done writing. Reading the lines somehow feels like reading words etched on a grave stone. I have learned, it is after writing that a poem explains its emotions to the fullest, not during.
I wrote Birdsong immediately after writing a poem on self-harm— it was not antecedently planned, and written on what might be called a whim. It was well past midnight, and I had a pounding head, but somehow I managed. It simply struck me how most things could mean the obvious but be much more than the obvious. It struck me how much people concluded based on assumptions. Birdsong addresses how easily assumptions can be erroneous. Using the familiar assumption that singing birds are happy to approach a much larger problem of conclusion based on the fragility of supposition in general; it attempts to demonstrate just how possible what seems could be the exact opposite of what is. Even hunted birds sing.
Does the bird halt to sing a song, or does the building song halt the bird? Paradoxical. Of course, this could be taken literally as well as metaphorical in regard the current state of an increasingly judgmental world. People seemingly assume things about others due to their interpretation and personal opinions or, in some cases, suppose/decide it's either this or that.
Dichotomy is rarely the case. Lines are not always straight. Assumption should rarely, if ever, be conclusion.
Assistant Editor Belinda Munyeza on “Birdsong”:
When I first read Agoyi’s poem, I was filled with wonderment; a feeling that has not gone away every time I have read it since. In “Birdsong,” Agoyi acts as a magician; he takes the sometimes drawn-out image of the bird in poetry and equanimously layers unique metaphors onto it – invites the reader to see the bird with new eyes – and thus reveals striking truths (while simultaneously posing questions) about loss and freedom that leave the reader both enlightened and curious, but most of all, with an awakened imagination.
If I write a poem, I do it carefully. Almost as if I were nurturing a child, lost in equal amounts of ecstasy and sadness. Maybe that is why I am always left rattled when I am done writing. Reading the lines somehow feels like reading words etched on a grave stone. I have learned, it is after writing that a poem explains its emotions to the fullest, not during.
I wrote Birdsong immediately after writing a poem on self-harm— it was not antecedently planned, and written on what might be called a whim. It was well past midnight, and I had a pounding head, but somehow I managed. It simply struck me how most things could mean the obvious but be much more than the obvious. It struck me how much people concluded based on assumptions. Birdsong addresses how easily assumptions can be erroneous. Using the familiar assumption that singing birds are happy to approach a much larger problem of conclusion based on the fragility of supposition in general; it attempts to demonstrate just how possible what seems could be the exact opposite of what is. Even hunted birds sing.
Does the bird halt to sing a song, or does the building song halt the bird? Paradoxical. Of course, this could be taken literally as well as metaphorical in regard the current state of an increasingly judgmental world. People seemingly assume things about others due to their interpretation and personal opinions or, in some cases, suppose/decide it's either this or that.
Dichotomy is rarely the case. Lines are not always straight. Assumption should rarely, if ever, be conclusion.
Assistant Editor Belinda Munyeza on “Birdsong”:
When I first read Agoyi’s poem, I was filled with wonderment; a feeling that has not gone away every time I have read it since. In “Birdsong,” Agoyi acts as a magician; he takes the sometimes drawn-out image of the bird in poetry and equanimously layers unique metaphors onto it – invites the reader to see the bird with new eyes – and thus reveals striking truths (while simultaneously posing questions) about loss and freedom that leave the reader both enlightened and curious, but most of all, with an awakened imagination.
Biography
Promise O. Agoyi is a young fictional writer. He writes prose and, more recently, poetry. He also provides services as a ghostwriter. Aside from writing, his other interests include science, reading and a wide range of music. You may contact him via his email address, blakeowls911@gmail.com, or follow/message him on Twitter @aopromise.
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