you dun even know she there
til she start to steal your heart and hair
to make her tarry nest.
dark bird stick her beak in your ear,
say, listen to me dear,
you ain't worth much.
then she tell another lie--
there ain't no sky.
dark bird turn your blood too thick
til you feel so sick
you can't fight. can't work up the nerve.
then one day she gone, just the way she came.
so now you know her name--
goddam dark bird.
_______
Tarry nest. That dark bird sounds alarming!
ReplyDeletegoddamn ... love this, i 'heard' it with a Jamaican lilt, mon
ReplyDeleteThe dark bird of the other, the darkness of the soul, twin up here for a malign and haunting mating. And yes, at the end, when the nest is empty of all but broken shell and waste, the last line is a curse. Coal's hiatus has done nothing to dull her wits, I see.
ReplyDeleteThe dark bird, the tarry nest, "there aint no sky".....Coal Black is in fine voice. No one can sing the blues like she does.
ReplyDeleteAh, goddam dark bird, stealing people's hair and hearts...
ReplyDeleteVery good to hear from Ms Black.
Wondrous mix of title, image and poem (done up in that nonjudgmental Jamaican lilt).
ReplyDeleteMy eyes are enamored with your image. It's nice to see Coal again.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem very much. It reminds me of a best friend I thought I'd never lose, but I haven't heard from her in years. We spent millions of moments drinking coffee at our diner and stealing each other's hair and secrets. Dark bird, yes. Her presence felt the heaviest when it is missing. I love what you did in the second stanza with the lies ... and then the thick blood in the third. This stirs me.
wow. this is great.
ReplyDeleteLord, get them lighters in the air! Coal is back!
ReplyDelete