Word-Bird presents...
Grebe Barcarolle
by Fliss
[W.-B. notation: o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O / o-o-O-o-o-O-o-o-O...]
When the row-boats are moored on the café-side deck
and the shutters are closed for the day
and a coot tiptoes under the tables to peck
at some crumbs tumbled off a tea tray,
then the lake stills and settles around the low quay
and the elegant grebes paddle by,
calling Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca! and whistling Wuh-ree!
upon shimmering mirrors of sky.
When the children abandon the small wooden swing
hanging down from a brittle-bark plane
by a length of grey rope fraying gently to string
swaying slowly through droplets of rain,
then the lake stills and settles around the old tree
and the elegant grebes paddle by,
calling Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca! and whistling Wuh-ree!
upon shimmering mirrors of sky.
When the joggers stop pounding the waterside path
and turn homeward towards the far town
while the dogs cease their splashing in willow-lined bath
once their owners have called with a frown,
then the lake stills and settles around the calm lee
and the elegant grebes paddle by,
calling Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca! and whistling Wuh-ree!
upon shimmering mirrors of sky.
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W.-B.’s notes: “This little waltzer has something of a special place in our hearts, as it was the poem that triggered Mike Burch’s invitation to Fliss to submit to The HyperTexts, in June 2021. Hooray!“
Fliss
And thanks for the celebratory introduction, W.-B.! Yes, that was a very happy time, for which we thank Mike effusively. The poem had originally been written to form part of my portfolio while Poet-in-Residence for Happenstance Border Morris group, a few years earlier. The majority of the portfolio poems were inspired by the group’s dances; this one was included simply by way of variation.
The poem was inspired by the great crested grebe family we saw while in Pittville Park with my dad, one of his sisters, and her husband. Having enjoyed tea in the café adjacent to the larger lake, we set off around the lake and were rather charmed to see we had been joined by the grebes, in a sense; they kept coming into view! Perhaps because we were visiting at a quiet time, the parents felt more confident about taking their chicks for a swim. Much later, home and listening to Chopin before bed, I heard his Barcarolle, here, and I was struck by how much of the structure of the piece brought to mind the grebes’ movements on the water, hence the title. The picture, by Pittville Swans & Friends’ Ron Cooper, shows the adults; for video footage of a family, please see here.
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Our renewed thanks to all our poets for their contributions this month and to all our readers for your continuing encouragement. It is very much appreciated! We wish everyone a Happy July and look forward to returning in August.
Fliss x
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