Bobolink Bird
Genetian Flowering and many specied Plant
The Gentian weaves her fringes —
The Maple's loom is red —
My departing blossoms
Obviate parade.
A brief, but patient illness —
An hour to prepare,
And one below this morning
Is where the angels are —
It was a short procession,
The Bobolink was there —
An aged Bee addressed us —
And then we knelt in prayer —
We trust that she was willing —
We ask that we may be.
Summer — Sister — Seraph!
Let us go with thee!
In the name of the Bee —
And of the Butterfly —
And of the Breeze — Amen!
Yes I suppose summer is getting "long in the tooth" when the genetian plant weaves her "fringes". Of course you need to know a thing or two about Plant Sciences like Ms Emily to understand the nature of this poem. I am still stuck on "obviate" obviously! In grammar it is the "four person". Well this is interesting, and much more compacted intelligence than I originally thought.
This poem is about the end of Summer as a funeral march by the various personified animals and plant species adored and observed by Ms Emily Dickinson.
I have included references to the words with which I was not familiar, as well as a really cute picture of a Bobolink! I have never actually seen a Bobolink. I wonder if they are almost extinct now like the birds I never see anymore but I always use to hear them as a child at sunrise and sunset; the Whippoorwill. These are stunning birds the Bobolinks! I thought maybe Ms Emily was talking about a Bobcat! We have a bear in our woods so I was up most of the night trying to catch a glimpse of the bear that drags our garbage pail into the woods late each evening. I am a zombie today. I will try to a "go" at a Miss Emily inspired by poem verse today.
Think I will have to come back and re-fringe this one as well. Must be midsummer and soon we will see those genetian fringes turn and we'll know...autumn is on it's way! Noooooo....not so soon. That's ok, the crimson is really to die "for". (dangling participle!) Does anyone know what Ms Emily is referring to by the word; Oblivate? It is a stumper for me this a.m.! (well early afternoon now!)...got too much work to do today, dang!
Chiccoreal's Channeled and Inspired Poetry
Bobolink!!!
Oh Bobolink
You do such a fine job
Of reminding us
Like the Genetian fringe
Party
That we're in a procession
Too
And we are drumming to the beat
of our own Season's Farewell Soon
As the all things
Start to turn turn turn
There is a season turn turn turn
Let not that dampen my parade
Enjoy my funeral Buzzing Bee!
Summer's almost gone
and so are yea
Begone Bee Begone!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentiana
General
Gentians have opposite leaves that are sometimes arranged in a basal rosette, and trumpet-shaped flowers that are usually deep blue or azure, but may vary from white, creamy and yellow to red. Many species also show considerable polymorphism with respect to flower color. Typically, blue-flowered species predominate in the Northern Hemisphere, with red-flowered species dominant in the Andes (where bird pollination is probably more heavily favored by natural selection). White-flowered species are scattered throughout the range of the genus but dominate in New Zealand. All gentian species have terminal tubular flowers and most are pentamerous, i.e. with 5 corolla lobes (petals), and 5 sepals, but 4-7 in some species. The style is rather short or absent. The corolla shows folds (= plicae) between the lobes. The ovary is mostly sessile and has nectary glands.
Obviate (abbreviated obv) person deixis is a grammatical person marking that distinguishes a non-salient (obviative) referent from a more salient (proximate) referent in a given discourse context. The third person obviative is sometimes referred to as the "fourth person." [1]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobolink
Bobolink
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Dolichonyx
Swainson, 1758
Species: D. oryzivorus
Binomial name
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Approximate distribution. blue: breeding; ochre: nonbreeding
The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a small New World blackbird and the only member of genus Dolichonyx.
Adults are 16–18 cm (6–8 in) long with short finch-like bills. They weigh about 1 ounce (28 g).[1] Adult males are mostly black, although they do display creamy napes, and white scapulars, lower backs and rumps. Adult females are mostly light brown, although their coloring includes black streaks on the back and flanks, and dark stripes on the head; their wings and tails are darker. The collective name for a group of bobolinks is a chain[2].
Their breeding habitats are open grassy fields, especially hay fields, across North America. In high-quality habitats, males are often polygynous. Females lay 5 to 6 eggs in a cup-shaped nest, which is always situated on the ground and is usually well-hidden in dense vegetation. Both parents feed the young.
These birds migrate to Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. One bird was tracked flying 12,000 miles (19,000 km) over the course of the year, and up to 1,100 miles (1,800 km) in one day.[1]
They often migrate in flocks, feeding on cultivated grains and rice, which leads to them being considered a pest by farmers in some areas. Although Bobolinks migrate long distances, they have rarely been sighted in Europe—like many vagrants from the Americas, the overwhelming majority of records are from the British Isles.[citation needed]
Bobolinks forage on, or near the ground, and mainly eat seeds and insects.
Males sing bright, bubbly songs in flight; these songs gave this species its common name.
The numbers of these birds are declining due to loss of habitat. In Vermont, a 75% decline was noted between 1966 to 2007.[1] Originally, they were found in tall grass prairie and other open areas with dense grass. Although hay fields are suitable nesting habitat, fields which are harvested early, or at multiple times, in a season may not allow sufficient time for young birds to fledge. This species increased in numbers when horses were the primary mode of transportation, requiring larger supplies of hay.
nb: This is an interesting aside (and another Bobolink poem as per Emily Dickinson!
Media references
Emily Dickinson penned many poems about the bird, such as the following one:
The Bobolink is gone — The Rowdy of the Meadow —
And no one swaggers now but me —
The Presbyterian Birds can now resume the Meeting
He gaily interrupted that overflowing Day
When opening the Sabbath in their afflictive Way
He bowed to Heaven instead of Earth
And shouted Let us pray —
(The text follows R.W. Franklin's edition; the numbering is 1620 in Franklin's edition, while it is listed as 1591 in Thomas H. Johnson's.)
The bobolink is also mentioned in the song Evelina by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, from the musical Bloomer Girl:[3]
jj
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