FOR VALENTINE'S DAY: Epigram For Mourning Doves

Not long ago I was awakened from a deep, early morning sleep by a glorious; “whoo WA whooo,” the call of a mourning dove. It’s a sweet, sad, unmistakable song that reminds me of pine trees and maple trees, dappled feathers, sunshine and childhood; not a bad way to start the day. I lounged and listened as I woke up. You can visit All About Birds if you want to hear a sound very similar to what I was hearing: MOURNING DOVE SOUNDS

This particular mourning dove was perched on the railing just outside my bedroom window as the sun came up and he was so intent on his singing that he didn’t even stir when I started to snap photos through the window from less than ten feet away:

 “What,” I wondered, “could cause such focus?” Well, the good people at All About Birds had an answer to this question. Here’s what they say: You can often hear paired males give the three-parted “nest call” while nest-building: a coo-OO-oo, highest in the middle. Females sometimes call ohr ohr while sitting on the nest.

It turns out that, despite its melancholy name, this male bird was content. He was part of a pair, nesting, and calling to his mate. 

All About Birds say that the female returns the call with a short ohr ohr. I did hear a female call back on this particular morning, but I didn’t see her and eventually the male on my railing flew away, presumably to meet the female at their nest. And so in honor of this happy mourning dove couple, and in celebration of Valentine’s Day, I wrote a slightly anthropomorphic poem:

EPIGRAM FOR MOURNING DOVES

The early morning mourning dove

Sings: whoo WA whooo, up here, my love.

An echo back: whoo whoo, down here.

Come help me build our nest, my dear.

© 2013 Tamera Will Wissinger

Happy Valentine’s Day love birds and bird lovers alike!

For Verseday #7, Gabrielle Prendergast is featuring Tim Sinclair, Australian verse novelist and poet, who is talking about poetry and real love at versenovel.com 

Also featured today is Marci Atkins, who, for Valentine's Day, is offering a printable annotated list of her favorite Haiku books at marcieatkins.com

And tomorrow Poetry Friday is being hosted by Linda at teacherdance.com

02.14.2013