Indian Grandala birds,
perched on thin, gray branches,
against a gray-green background-sky–
something like a mountainside;
male and female, one supposes,
wondering what songs they make,
what harmonies their colors make–
visual and audible.
What lessons, too, they might inspire
in fellow creatures, reaching higher–
humans reaching from the mire
of endless wars and desolation…?
Can we reach beyond the cluttered moats
of self-obsessions and mandated memes;
find harmonies in different notes,
adjust and grow… and fly?
(Inspired by a photo by Rajesh Panwar)
Gary Corseri has taught in US public schools and prisons, and at US and Japanese universities. His prose and poems have appeared at Countercurrents, Counterpunch, Village Voice, The New York Times, Redbook Magazine, and hundreds of other periodicals and websites. His dramas have been produced on Atlanta-PBS and elsewhere, and he has performed his work at the Carter Presidential Library and Museum. His books include novels, and the poetry volume, “Random Descent” (Anhinga Press). He can be contacted at garyscorseri@gmail.com.
