haiku (thousands)

[Brigid Briton]

thousands of grackles
glorify crimson sunset
with raucous voices

[Neal Allen (snowtracks)]

Ha Ha. What a sudden contrast. It reminds me of some of the loud African Birds we have here that shriek and flap around a lot.

[eiken]

Brigid,
I had to look up Grackle - they are very like crows here but maybe a bit smaller. Beautiful colour contrasts with the crimson sunset and I wonder do you need "with"?

[Brigid Briton]

Hi eiken,

Thanks for your comment. It's great to see you. You're right, I really don't need the "with" in a haiku.

Grackles are quite a bit smaller than crows and they do love to congregate in large numbers. It's probably actually tens of thousands of them that gather at dusk to chatter, trill and chirp on all of the power lines surrounding the shopping center near my home. It's really something to see.

Businesses have attempted to dissuade the birds by playing recordings of hawks and owls, but it doesn't seem to work. I love the grackles as an example of nature meeting "progress" head-on and using human creations to their own advantage.

How about this:

raucous grackles
glorify
crimson sunset

OR

crimson sunset
grackles sing
hallelujah

Just like I sing when I see you here!

[eiken]

Brigid,
It is great to be well enough again to participate and before the family festivities take over which is very soon, but all very good.

I loved the gathering of the grackles in fact the g and the g work well together and they do glorify your crimson sunset, superb contrast colours. I like the fact that the businesses have not succeeded as they very often destroy nature as it is and should be I know how noisy the crows are as they gather to roost nearby and they literally block out the little bit of light before dusk, I had a haiku once

December dusk
a murder of crows
smother the light

I wonder what a gathering of grackles is? You have done great work on this haiku, it could go anywhere with possibilities. If you want them singing, I would have them chorus the crimson sunset.

You have my mind working overtime here and I wrote a Christmas poem after the one for the challenge about a garland I made myself, a recycling of old dusty baubles, thirty years of memories and it is hanging in my front porch. It is a cascading flow of years abroad, the children growing up, the different traditions, the trendy colours over the years all gathered onto my garland. It is very different to a holly wreath but is glowing out there on this very dark December day. Will post it later, got to go shopping but getting there with the Christmas stuff

[diannet]

Grackles, I've never heard of them, what an unusual name. I must say they sound an interesting bird. I love crows, they're so adaptable and inventive, so must check these little fellas out.