29.06: Wings & Elderflower

ai art: birdcages in Birdcage Alley in Hong Kong

WARNING; MANY WILL FIND THIS VIDEO A HARD ONE TO WATCH.
THE MUSIC IS BEAUTIFUL — TRUTH IS OFTEN NOT.

Broken Wings and Elderflower

The oaks unstitch the night,
sunlight dripping through, honey-thick,
and pooling in my footprints.
It is liquid gold.
And above, the warblers taste
of elderflower,
their notes glinting like tossed pennies.

I kneel into the coolness of moss,
a green hymn older than borders,
while the robin’s tune tastes of rust—
an iron blood and worm-song,
a dying dialect of hedgerows.

My little ones, I whisper,
stitch your truth to the wind.
Let no cage steal the geometry
of your flight, no silence blunt
the sharp sugar of your dawn.

The forest swallows my words,
roots are humming
with underground lullabies.
Somewhere, a last nightingale
paints the dark with amber sound,
while the earth,
grieves with generous,
opened palms:

Here. Here is the sky
that I’ve saved for you.


Music by Broken Wings x WaterBear by Ludovico Einaudi. Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text or captioned. Images are copyright and not to used without permission, which I willingly give when asked, and when not for commercial use. Imagery and poems/prose ©Misky 2006-2025.

14 responses to “29.06: Wings & Elderflower”

  1. Brava, M; another man…kind.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, AO. My maternal grandmother had a case of stuffed hummingbirds, and although I don’t remember this, I’m told I carried the case outside, removed the glass dome, and ordered them to fly away. I was 4. It’s engrained in me, I think.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. The video was heartbreaking. I don’t know what it is that makes humans believe every living creature is here merely for our own delights. This was a soulful and somber start to my day.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am pleased that it gave your soul a thoughtful moment. Maybe put on some happy music now and sing like a bird! 🎶

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Just… …pondering.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for giving it your time, Chris.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I do like his work, powerful video.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you. Thank you. 🙏

      Like

  5. Your wonderful photo of the Chinese market touches me deeply. Memories of wandering through those markets in search of treasures flood back. I found more than just a few antique birdcages…and even today, I often dream about those markets, literally.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ll say immediately that it’s not my photo — it’s created using Midjourney.

      Now to the markets: Did you visit Cat Street? I can’t recall the actual name of the road, but it’s off Hollywood Road. “Cats and Mouse” … the mouse being the stolen/fake merchandise and the cats are the customers, thereby the name. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such perfectly reproduced fakes (I still have some that I treasure like a brown clay unglazed teapot and some artwork). But Birdcage Alley used to give me nightmares, particularly the one in Kowloon which was atrocious. And the wet markets when I first arrived in HKG knocked me back a step or two —but those I learned to cope with, and even bought chicken and fish there. I never softened my mind to the caged birds though.

      Thank you for telling me about your memories of the markets, and those beautiful old cages.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yes, I know the Cat Street and Hollywood Road area very well. But I was thinking primarily of Shanghai, which I’ve visited very often. On Xizang Nan Lu, there’s a market with mostly bird cages. Mostly new, but sometimes antique. I bought mostly antique cricket cages there, and a few vendors kept finding me things – from jade to seals and snuff bottles. I was more interested in smaller pieces, not just because of the transport. Fascinating years…..

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        1. What joy in finding such treasures in the market. Fascinating years, indeed.

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  6. A heartbreaking film and an equally moving poetic response – how do we begin to think we have the right…

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    1. I have no answer for that question, Andrew. I just don’t know. Thank you for finding your way here for a read and leaving a comment. Much appreciated.

      Like

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