I I
"Among twenty snowy mountains, You can look at it from the perspective that
The only moving thing the blackbird is forever watchful, and so too
Was the eye of the blackbird. is the eye of those you think aren't
watching, when the in fact, are.
II II
I was of three minds, It can be confusing having three different ideas Like a tree or perspectives on the same thing, and deciding
In which there are three blackbirds. which is most correct, or which takes priority.
III III
The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. Though so much around is changing, the It was a small part of the pantomime. smallest action, though lost in fray, still contributes.
IV IV
A man and a woman In a union everything becomes one, even
Are one. non ideal things or baggage be it emotional,
A man and a woman and a blackbird physical, or mental.
Are one.
V V
I do not know which to prefer, The comparison of the act its self or the results, The beauty of inflections which is better, the getting there,
Or the beauty of innuendoes, or the destination?
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.
VI VI
Icicles filled the long window Captivity is cold and the free blackbird flying to With barbaric glass. and fro is a mockery of the captivity of the The shadow of the blackbird narrator, why the bird does it , no one knows, but Crossed it, to and fro. the freedom of his flight is felt, and perhaps also The mood desired by the narrator
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.
VII VII
O thin men of Haddam, Sometimes what people really want isn't what they Why do you imagine golden birds? really wanted, or thought they wanted, and what Do you not see how the blackbird they really wanted is something else, something Walks around the feet better, that's been right in front of them this whole Of the women about you? time.
VIII VIII
I know noble accents Not everything is as it appears to be, even things And lucid, inescapable rhythms; that seem to be so real can be something else. entirely beneath the surface.
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.
IX IX
When the blackbird flew out of sight, Life is a cycle and we are all connected to
It marked the edge eachother and our paths all cross at one point or
Of one of many circles. another, and what seems to leave or be gone
is never gone for good, it will come back again,
though not always in a desirable way, it will come
back again.
X X
At the sight of blackbirds Sometimes things go wrong when you least expect it, Flying in a green light, when something is seemingly peaceful, be prepared Even the bawds of euphony for when it turns sour.
Would cry out sharply.
XI XI
He rode over Connecticut When things seem apparently clear, even fear can In a glass coach. turn the most obvious or clear thing into something Once, a fear pierced him, else in our minds eye, it can also make a hero a
In that he mistook weak coward.
The shadow of his equipage
For blackbirds.
XII XII
The river is moving. Life goes on, if a tree falls in the forest it still makes a The blackbird must be flying. sound regaurdless if anyone else is there to hear it, if
things are continuing normally, life must go on.
XIII XIII
It was evening all afternoon. Sometimes it is dark, and things may be difficult, and it It was snowing will probably get difficult again, but sometimes we just And it was going to snow. have to find a way to get through it, our own cedar The blackbird sat branch, until things turn around for the best again
In the cedar-limbs."
*A man. A woman. and a Blackbird.
*Image courtesy of: http://www.joancolbert.com/gallery/prints/thirteenways/amawab.htm - There is a visual representation of each way if you'd like to check them out, I had a hard time picking which one to incorporate they were all so wonderful!
