Robin Prints Across the Page

They say that a robin is a sign,
a visit from a loved one
from the other side.

Chill January breath
haunts me on the anniversary
of my mother’s death,

her favourite bird follows me
round the garden,
cocks its head and eyes me,

leaves invisible spoors
across a blank page,
a love letter of sorts

carving a pain in my heart,
lingering grief or acceptance
that I can make a fresh start.

Kim M. Russell, 9th January 2024

Image by Stephanie Martin on Unsplash

This Tuesday, Dora is hosting Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub with creatures of the blank page. She describes the New Year as ‘stretching out before us like a snow-covered field, pristine, like a blank page, untouched till we mark it with our words, our footprints’, and briefly discusses our reasons for writing and our particular styles, giving examples of different approaches from Christopher Isherwood, Miroslav Holub, Seamus Heaney and Emily Dickinson.

Dora says ‘there is something of the animal in us when we write, delving with badger feet or soaring with heron’s wings, that places all our multitudinous reasons and ways of writing in simple perspective’, giving wonderful examples of this in poems by two poets I greatly admire: Carol Ann Duffy and Ted Hughes. The Hughes poem is one I used in a prompt for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads back in 2017.

Dora challenges us to use Duffy’s and Hughes’ poems as examples to write a poem using any animals of your choice (real or mythological) as a metaphor for how ideas and words take shape for us on a blank page. ‘Do we approach the blank page with stealth and craft, or a burst of attack? Or still yet do we drag glyphs onto our laptop screen in exuberant abandon to later edit and score into shape, beaver-like?’It’s the seventh anniversary of my mother’s death today, so I am writing about her favourite bird, the robin.

58 thoughts on “Robin Prints Across the Page”

    1. Thank you, Björn. I hear and see so many robins on my daily walk. They often appear in our garden and sometimes fight off the squirrel that raids the bird feeders.

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    1. Thank you so much, Colleen. Today is nearly over and I’ve managed to get through it by keeping busy. We have lots of robins around here at the moment, so lots of mums around too.

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    2. There are so many robins around at the moment, it has made Mum’s anniversary a little easier to cope with. Not long after she died a robin flew into our kitchen window.

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  7. They’re persistent little buggers, aren’t they? Such a good symbol for carrying on, not letting even the winter cold get you down. It’s a lovely idea too, that they’re the soul of a loved one. Perhaps because they tend to be quite friendly, tolerant of us at least.

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    1. They are persistent, inquisitive and they make me smile. We had one that chased a squirrel of the bird feeders! I like it when I work in the garden and one or two follow me around, waiting for worms.

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  11. Oh Kim….this is so beautiful and heartfelt. I just feel this poem and your love for your mum, and your missing her. Beautifully writ.
    PS: if you read my “poem” which was #1 on Mr. Linky, somehow, all the formatting was stripped from it! I had to rewrite, repost, and changed it a bit. I must say, it seems so superflous in comparison to the magnificent poems I’m reading now! Anyhow, please do read again, I’ve posted anew to Mr. Linky.

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  14. The robins have all gone south here for the winter. I believe these feather friends call for a reason a message from the other side meant for you. Embrace it, it’s a gift. (hugs)

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  16. Kim, this is a poignant exploration of grief and love, beautifully weaving the symbolism of a robin as a sign from the other side. The imagery is evocative, capturing the intersection of lingering grief and the possibility of a fresh start… Beautiful

    ❤
    David

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  21. I didn’t know that a robin signify a visit from beyond. This is new information for me so I am thankful. The rhythm and the smooth flow of the lines and stanzas usher an unforced reel of images. Wonderfully crafted, Kim! 💜

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  25. I have heard the same about cardinals, although birds are thought to be gatekeepers, harbingers, messengers between us and other worlds. It indeed sounds as though she is watching over you closely.❤️🙏🏻

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  28. I’d never heard that about robins…I’d heard that any wild bird that flies into the house may be a psychopomp sent to lead someone into the afterlife, though I’m not sure anyone believes it. But I’d always heard that robins, outdoors, were harbingers of springtime.

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