Signs
when the birds begin to walk
when the crows in their silk tuxedos
stand in the road and watch
as oncoming traffic swerves to avoid
the valley of dead things
when the geese reject the sky
and sit on the apron of highway 95
one wing pointing north the other south
and what does it mean this morning
when a man runs wild eyed from his car
shirtless and shoeless his palms spread wide
into the jungle of traffic into a world
gone awry the birds beginning to walk
the man almost naked almost cawing
almost lifting straining to fly
Lucille Clifton
Best American Poetry 2000
Scribner
Frankly, I'd love hear some interpretations of this one. The reversal of nature? An apocalyptic premonition? Meditation on global warming? I love--love-- the rhythm of it, the imagery ("the crows in their silk tuxedos") and the beautiful detail ("the man almost naked, almost cawing/almost lifting straining to fly"). Clifton, like all the masters knows how to swing the verbs, I'm just not sure what it all adds up to.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2008/08/poem-for-monday/5715/
