Pigeon in the Rain

Pigeon in the rain
Ruffled feathers, fat birds--
Little heads sticking up.
Gray skies, steely heavens--
Rain is falling on the city.

Why is your perch so blue, birds?
Why is your perch so grassy?
Why is this place a favorite haunt
Of a pigeon in the rain?

Leafless trees, black bare branches--
Birdseed littering dark cold ground.
Wet grass, green mixed gray--
All in the song of a rainy day.

Why is your perch so dark, birds?
Why is your perch so black?
Why is this place a favorite haunt
Of a pigeon in the rain?

Give me a pigeon in the rain--
Dark, ruffled feathers, fat and ugly
With a little head sticking up and a glaring eye.
Give me the perch.
Bright blue against steely skies,
Climb still higher to a doorway.
Give me a pigeon in the rain.

The most poetic titles can have funny backrounds! The title was originally the title of a stupid tape we made about music. The title came from Bill Miller's "Raven in the Snow"--it was a spoof, basically! But then I thought about the pigeons in the rain on their bright blue "perch"--fat and forlorn, with their heads sticking up exaggeratingly small. And suddenly, "Pigeon in the Rain" was more than a spoof--it was a..um...well, I don't know the name for something that is a poem and a feeling and a bit of a song all at once. That's the way I feel.

This is the bright blue "perch"!

Saro