Birds Again, poem by Jim Harrison

BIRDS AGAIN
by Jim Harrison

A secret came a week ago though I already

knew it just beyond the bruised lips of consciousness.

The very alive souls of thirty-five hundred dead birds

are harbored in my body. It’s not uncomfortable.

I’m only temporary habitat for these not-quite –
weightless creatures. I offered a wordless invitation

and now they’re roosting within me, recalling

how I had watched them at night

in fall and spring passing across earth moons,

little clouds of black confetti, chattering and singing

on their way north or south. Now in my dreams 

I see from the air the rumpled green and beige,

the watery face of earth as if they’re carrying

me rather than me carrying them. Next winter

I’ll release them near the estuary west of Alvarado

and south of Veracruz. I can see them perching

on undiscovered Olmec heads. We’ll say goodbye

and I’ll return my dreams to earth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Harrison is the author of thirty books, including Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and Shape of the Journey. His work has been translated into two dozen languages and produced as four feature-length films. In 2007, Mr. Harrison was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He divides his time between Montana and southern Arizona.

Painting: ”L’Homme au Chapeau Melon” (1964) by René Magritte

Morning Poem by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Morning Poem 
by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

I want to describe my life in hushed tones
like a TV nature program. Dawn in the north.
His nose stalks the air for newborn coffee.

###

Find more poems by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser in BRAIDED CREEK: A Conversation in Poetry, available at Amazon.com.

Illustration: Label by Ray Troll for “Wicked Wolf: Raven’s Brew Gourmet Coffee” available at ravensbrew.com.

Birds Again, poem by Jim Harrison

BIRDS AGAIN
by Jim Harrison

A secret came a week ago though I already

knew it just beyond the bruised lips of consciousness.

The very alive souls of thirty-five hundred dead birds

are harbored in my body. It’s not uncomfortable.

I’m only temporary habitat for these not-quite —
weightless creatures. I offered a wordless invitation

and now they’re roosting within me, recalling

how I had watched them at night

in fall and spring passing across earth moons,

little clouds of black confetti, chattering and singing

on their way north or south. Now in my dreams 

I see from the air the rumpled green and beige,

the watery face of earth as if they’re carrying

me rather than me carrying them. Next winter

I’ll release them near the estuary west of Alvarado

and south of Veracruz. I can see them perching

on undiscovered Olmec heads. We’ll say goodbye

and I’ll return my dreams to earth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Harrison is the author of thirty books, including Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and Shape of the Journey. His work has been translated into two dozen languages and produced as four feature-length films. In 2007, Mr. Harrison was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He divides his time between Montana and southern Arizona.

Painting: “L’Homme au Chapeau Melon” (1964) by René Magritte

Night Poem by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Night Poem
by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

The moon put her white hands 
on my shoulders, looked into my face,
and without a word
sent me on into the night. 

###

Find more poems by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser in BRAIDED CREEK: A Conversation in Poetry, available at Amazon.com.

Dawn Poem by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Dawn Poem 
by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Clear summer dawn,
first sun steams moisture
redly off the cabin roof,
a cold fire. Passing raven
eyeballs it with a quawk.

###

Find more poems by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser in BRAIDED CREEK: A Conversation in Poetry, available at Amazon.com.

Morning Poem by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Morning Poem
by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

I want to describe my life in hushed tones
like a TV nature program. Dawn in the north.
His nose stalks the air for newborn coffee.

###

Find more poems by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser in BRAIDED CREEK: A Conversation in Poetry, available at Amazon.com.

Illustration: Label by Ray Troll for “Wicked Wolf: Raven’s Brew Gourmet Coffee” available at ravensbrew.com.

Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

From Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry
by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser

Each time I go outside the world
is different. This has happened
all my life.
*
The moon put her hand
over my mouth and told me
to shut up and watch.
*
The clock stopped at 5:30
for three months.
Now it’s always time to quit work,
have a drink, cook dinner.

#

Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry (Copper Canyon Press, 2003) by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser was released 10 years ago — but remains a remarkable testament to poetry, friendship, nature, and life. In the late 1990s, after nearly four decades as an executive in the insurance industry, Ted Kooser was diagnosed with cancer — and decided to quit his job and quit writing poetry, which he had done from 5:30 to 7:00 a.m. each morning before going to work.

After his recovery and remission, Kooser started to write short poems inspired by his morning walks. He then mailed each poem on a postcard to his friend — novelist and poet Jim Harrison. The poems appear in Kooser’s 2001 release WINTER MORNING WALKS: 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison (Carnegie Mellon). The two writers continued their correspondence of short poems — resulting in BRAIDED CREEK: A Conversation in Poetry, a collection of over 300 poems. According to the publisher, “Harrison and Kooser decided to remain silent over who wrote which poem, allowing their voices, ideas, and images to swirl and merge into this remarkable suite of lyrics.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Jim Harrison is the author of thirty books, including Legends of the Fall, Dalva, and Shape of the Journey. His work has been translated into two dozen languages and produced as four feature-length films. In 2007, Mr. Harrison was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He divides his time between Montana and southern Arizona. As Poet Laureate of the United States (2004-2006), Ted Kooser launched the weekly poetry column “American Life in Poetry,” which appears in over 100 newspapers nationwide. He is the author of ten books of poems, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Delights & Shadows. He lives in Nebraska.

PHOTO: Jim Harrison (left) and Ted Kooser by Don Usner (Lannan Foundation), ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

###

April 25th is Ted Kooser’s 74th birthday — and we send him our best wishes. We are honored to include his poetry in the Silver Birch Press SUMMER ANTHOLOGY — a collection of poetry & prose from authors around the world — available June 1, 2013.