POEM: A ‘symphony’ of ‘chirps’ and ‘cheeps’
June 23, 2026
By Sue Shaw
Bird Sounds
I heard a ‘chirp’, I heard a ‘cheep’…
Some sounds pitched high, some sounds pitched deep!
Some calls are rolling…long—like laughter…
Some have short, sharp call-notes after.
Combinations—rhythms changing,
The same except for rearranging
Small differences so hard to hear…
Unless you have a bird-type ear!
We struggle…learning, trying hard,
To master songs heard in our yard.
In yards…in woods…and at the shore…
When one is conquered, then come more!
The bird-song symphony goes on…
From dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn…
But, OH, what do those notes all mean?
Those tweets and pauses in-between.
These sounds—each one—made by the birds….
Oh, how I wish I knew the WORDS!
— Sue Shaw lives and writes in Penobscot.
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