Communing with birds

I open my empty palm

expecting metaphors to light

like fireflies on my life line.

When I close my eyes

I can see the river Delta,

sweet green tarpaulin stretched

across the hemisphere and those

deep murky waters reflecting the

silver sky.

Fleeting memories disperse like clouds.

Just before sleep I sink deep

into illusory havens hoping to

escape the boredom of life.

metaphorbirds

Metaphor and Allegory by Ju-Yu Chen

90 thoughts on “metaphors of birds”

  1. Beautiful poem. I like the idea of sinking into illusive havens to escape the boredom of life. On the reality of communicating with birds in half dream states, our African Grey singing Lola, and changing the words to “lol cat bird”, with “more cowbell” interspersed between his almost coherent imitations of Laurie talking then ending her discussion with a “What?” in my voice, leaves little room for boredom; however, it does sometimes put me into a weird state with strange dreams as twilight pushes the darkness into light, pulling me half awake.

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    1. Lovely comment Timothy, a poem unto itself! I love beautiful birds, all birds though I don’t have any. The talking birds are magical and fun. I can certainly imagine some very wild dreams their presence might invoke.

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          1. The Conure is like a perpetual 3 year old, and the Grey is like a perpetual 5 year old. They never run out of creative antics. The kitties are clever and ornery in their own ways.

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  4. Nicely done Rene! I love nothing more than taking in a beautiful scene and at the same time living in that lush world of memories and imagination. You describe those moments so well. Lovely image to go along.

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  6. I would love to escape to this delta you write of.
    I think you are correct. Life is like a firefly, bright and brief.
    I am more horrified than bored, nonetheless, “illusory havens” are required.
    Thank you, Holly! ❦

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    1. It’s so true Charlie, birds are so beautifully delicate and tiny creatures, I also love the Hawks, Eagles, and birds of prey. They are a wonder. We have thousands of wild parrots here , the trees are filled with them. The last two winters an American Robin took shelter in my porch eaves . It was amazing to watch her pattern of coming and going always at the same time. Take care Charlie, thank you for the beautiful comment. 😊

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          2. A brilliant interpretation of this film Mr. Cake. The symbolism of the birds vengeful attack representing the “ungovernable sexuality of women” went over my head. I was more inclined to think the birds were poisoned by a toxic environment explaining their erratic behavior. I am going to see this film with a new perspective. Enjoyed!

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          3. Thank you Miss Heart. The original story is a revenge of nature type story, though du Maurier (brilliant short story writer) as a repressed lesbian had a very conflicted view of female sexuality as well. Hitchcock’s misogyny is widely known, though that doesn’t make The Birds any less of a masterful suspense movie.

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          4. I haven’t read Du Maurier, but I plan to now.
            I was not aware of Hitchcock’s misogyny but I am not surprised, I’m sure it was widespread among the movie industry in the 50’s and 60’s.

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          9. The Penguin classics of Don’t look now and other stories is very good…includes the birds and I don’t think there is a duff one among them. Contrary to popular wisdom I would say watch the movie first then the story, just in this one instance.

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          16. Who could not adore Grace? I have to admit I am disappointed in Mr. H. but the heart wants what the heart wants and he wanted blondes, it seems it would be easy enough to become a blonde if one wished though…no?

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    1. I am seeing the Birds as more than a masterful Hitchcock thriller/suspense movie, all symbolism went over my head, I intend to watch this movie again from a different perspective. By the way, My favorite Hitch movie is Rear Window. Thank you so much Mr. Cake, I enjoyed reading your take on this.

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      1. I love Rear Window as well, with its very dubious voyeuristic undertones. I find symbolism in everything I am afraid. I look forward to your analysis Miss Heart.

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        1. I am a bit of a voyeur myself, I think we are all curious and The Rear Window is a wonderful example of what we seek when we are bored, excitement and adventure, perhaps danger, even if it comes with binoculars.

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          9. I was thinking about the current state and I was wondering what J G Ballard would have thought. He was very good at the whole prophecy thing, his 2006 novel Kingdom Come predicted the return of fascism at a time when nobody else was. He wrote Why I Want to Fuck Ronald Reagan, what would he have made of Trump?

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