Zinovy Vayman
Birds of Color
The Abukumagawa River is wide and mighty but ducks seem to cross it
easily. On the bank of the river a giant colorful poster is erected. We
see on it swans, herons, geese, kingfisher and other beautiful birds
which names we cannot read or translate from the Japanese.no crows, no sparrows
shown on reserve gate poster–
they sit on it liveJerusalem gate
pigeon sleeps in a hole
made by the shellfire
morning’s first light
on my closed eyelids
swift bird shadows
look at the window!
dinosaurs! ah…
wet pigeons
cold morning
crow sways
by its raucous call
Fukushima lake
Siberian swans play
japaneasily
Norwegian dusk
a duck pushes its head deeper
under its wing
lingering sunset
on a roof’s edge pigeons sit
equidistantly whizzing around me
a hummingbird returns
windswept street to the same blossom
pigeons keep warm
in a period detail
sound barrier booms
crows cry and circle the hamlet
counterclockwise
in the pale sky
W geese formation
becomes V
a beakful sparrow
runs from sparrows
go, sparrow, go!ocean beach
so many seagulls sit
all facing the wind
dusk deepens
in the sky pigeons catch
golden sunlight
road dust:
chirping sparrows
take a splashing bath
caged and mobbed
two peacocks try to hide
invisible bird: behind each other
it whistles once “yes”, once “no”
and once “yes, yes”
almost extinct
Maui black masked bird
multiplies
in print
