The Grackle in His Black Silk Suit by Margaret Ellis Hill
I really detest grackles (they seem to be all over campus squalling all the time), but I like this poem. I got to hear Peggy Hill read it at the reading for the Texas Poetry Calendar 2008 and it was delightful!
The Grackle in His Black Silk Suit
By Margaret Ellis Hill
It was the song, its consistent repeat
that drew me outside to discover the source—
a fancy flourish in a tux, a tiptoeing tenor,
a tease with dips and bows, a high wire act.
His apparent audience: the small lady in a front seat,
glimpsing the show while smoothing brown pleats
and me who stared silently, wiping hands on an apron
before sitting on porch steps to watch the show.
Mid-routine, the lady flew up an aisle, wing beats
brushing feather dust in my face as she raced by
as if to tell me that I could have him:
all he did was sing and dance, nothing more.
His intended gone, the tone changed to squawks
scolding me as if it was my fault she left.
Current Tea: iced lemon chiffon rooibos (rooibos, a South African herbal tisane, with lemongrass, marigold flowers, and creamy lemon flavor)
