This poem for Paul Brookes’ challenge, inspired by the paintings Can I go now? by Marcel Herms and Darkness beckons by Terry Chipp, is, I hope not premonitory.
Darkness beckons
because the dream is never enough,
because the road runs bright and broad,
because she thought the golden city was for her,
and although she picks up trinkets on the way,
the road ends always in a golden ditch,
and all she sees is a field of magpies.
Sometimes she thinks the darkness
that stretches out its empty hands full
of no promises offers more than this.
We forget, if we ever knew, that
caged birds sing to sooth their broken hearts,
not ours.
What a way to end! Loved it.
Birds in cages are just so sad.
You know what’s sadder? How we teach our kids it’s normal. There isn’t a single B’s book that doesn’t have a caged bird, rabbit or mouse.
And all the animals in kids’ books wear clothes, and have big cheesy Disney grins. Even the ones that are being poached to extinction. Such hypocrisy.
This morning B finds some new German cartoon. It’s nice, kids’ stuff – trains, friends, ABC. I leave him for a sec, and come back to that same naive cartoon which takes children for a ride though an army camp, telling a story about machine guns and tanks and bomber planes and crap. I swear to god, I was close to smashing the TV set.
I’d have thought the Germans would have been rather more…sensitive about that kind of stuff!
They were, sort of, till that thing today. And then BAM!
I looove their children’s books – both the stories and illustrations, so imaginative and tactful and age-appropriate.
When it comes to utube videos, you cannot be cautious enough these days, it seems.
Mostly you can’t trust what you don’t know. And if you have to vet them all beforehand, you’d get nothing else done!
Which is why I love sticking to Peppa Pig and such.
Do you know this one, from when I was a kid. The Clangers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6CoIwcJ-E
and The Wombles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_tlI-m8MXI
Nothing but very childish fun in these.
I can’t say that I do. I’ll check them out. Thanks.
The originals are not very sophisticated but I know the Clangers are still going strong. Not sure about the Wombles.
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
Thank you!
You’re more than welcome, Jane.
That last sentence filled my eyes with tears…
Thank you, Anita for reblogging and enjoying the poem. A caged bird is one of the saddest things there is.
It is…
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie ~ Authors.
Beautiful words and picture…
Thanks so much!
You’re very welcome
🙂
That last verse really got to me 💜 it’s so beautiful.
There’s something about seeing a bird in a cage that is so heartbreaking.
Yes that’s so true 💜
😦
I agree. I LOVE watching birds outside, but it is sad to see them caged.
So unnatural.
Yes. 😔
Rebloged and commented 💜
Thank you, Willow 🙂
So poignant. Sad and beautiful.
Thank you. The prompts have been on the grim side so far.
Yes, but you have handled them beautifully. 😀
Thank you 🙂 I’ve looked ahead a little way and they’re still grim…
Caged birds lead to caged children. I feel the same sadness in zoos. Now they say they are “saving” the species whose habitats we have destroyed. (K)
It’s so good of us that we take the trouble.
We do make sure we pat ourselves on the back.
Well, we are the masters of the universe.