starling murmuration love comes and goes
Blithe Spirit, 25:1, 2015
Tim Gardiner
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
撲天蓋地的一群八哥愛情來得快去得也快
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
撲天盖地的一群八哥爱情来得快去得也快
Bio Sketch
Dr Tim Gardiner is an ecologist and poet from Manningtree in Essex, UK. His haiku and tanka have been published in literary magazines including Blithe Spirit, Frogpond, and Presence. His first collection of poetry, Wilderness, was published by Brambleby Books in 2015. He has published many scientific papers on natural history and several books, including one about glow-worms.
Thematically speaking, the pace of a one-liner works well with starlings' group behavior (their flight direct and fast) and effectively enhances the meaning of the second half of the poem ("love comes and goes"), and emotionally speaking, the mesmerizing image of a "starling murmuration"(symbolizing the lessons of community, such as group behavior and etiquette) and the hollow statement ("love comes and goes") form a conflicted relationship.
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