It began as a muffled splash
in a half-flooded field,
became chyak-chyak and chattering echoes
in the January vacuum,
then exploded into black ink,
splattering Rohrschach blots against the winter-grey sky:
a clattering of sorrows.
I counted thirteen jackdaws.
By Kim M. Russell, 9th January 2024
Image by Alexei Zaitcev on Unsplash
Written on the anniversary of my mother’s death, for @TopTweetTuesday, hosted by a fellow cat lover, Ryan Keating @Keatingr. There are fifteen jackdaws in the image I found – I was too busy recording birdsong with the app on my phone to capture the thirteen I saw.
Rewritten to reduce it to eight lines for Sumana’s imagist prompt at What’s Going On? on 24th September 2025.
writing in north norfolk 
The January vacuum – such great choice of words, in a poem that brings to life signs after loss….i used to think unlucky 13, but now I just see as a symbolic number as many good things happen on 13th …. Take some time for those happy memories – gentle hugs 🤩
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Thank you so much, Suzanne.
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You are welcome 🤗
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Such vivid imagery, I can hear those wings, flapping in the water, making that splashing, sound, such an, amazing, piece of writing.
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Thank you so much!
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Such vivid sounds as well as images, Kim.
Rorschach is getting around in January. 🙂
Isn’t that bird app great?
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Thanks Merril! I’ve been using Merlin on all my walks, although today was very cold and windy, and there weren’t many birds about.
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You’re welcome. Merlin is great. It’s how I spotted the bald eagle the other day.
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Sadly no eagles here. I’d have to travel up to Scotland for eagles.
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“A clattering of sorrows” — Brilliant imagistic writing, Kim.
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Thank you, Dora!
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This is fantastic!!
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Thank you!
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“then exploded
into black ink
splattering Rohrschach blots
against the winter-grey sky:” – absolutely fantastic!
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Thanks so much!
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It’s wonderful they way this opens out. Birds show up when we need them to fill the empty spaces. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe.
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Kim, I had to check what a jackdaw was and found it is a type of crow. What an experience – to see so many. of them at one time. And what a noise they all must have made!
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Thank you, Mary.
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“January vacuum” pierces, haunted by grief, as it were. Then it gets filled up by ‘a clattering of sorrows’. The bird image enhances the effect. Wonderful, Kim.
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Thanks very much, Sumana!
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So moving, “a clattering of sorrows”, the jackdaw racket and the grief over your mother. Beautiful.
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Thank you, Sherry.
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LOL….when I began reading this I thought it was describing your car breaking down in the middle of a field with the chyak chyak and the clattering of sorrows…. until I read the last few lines. I would fail any rorschash test:) Excellent poem.
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😀
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You have captured both feeling and the birds most adeptly! I love the chattering – bold as you like! And the photo is wonderful as well – Jae
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Thank you, Jae!
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Beautiful I love the vivid images and all the sounds captured in this poem
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Thank you, Marja.
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I love the words you chose to create such a vivid poem.
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Thanks so much, Susie.
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“A clattering of sorrows” – I can see and hear this.
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Thanks Sara!
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