The Murmuration

 
The Murmuration

I saw the starlings in the sky.
They wheeled and arced and seemed to weave
a giant form of sentience.

I stood transfixed and watched with awe
the flowing shapes that being took
that twisted, turned, dispersed, condensed…

And as I watched, I heard the sound,
the murmur of the beating wings—
a hundred thousand pairs of wings.

I heard it rise from a whisper, surge
and fade and rise and ebb again—
like waves within an aerial sea.

And all at once the cloud grew dark
and swiftly plunged across the trees,
as one by one they settled down...

A giant bird is created out of a starling murmuration in Scotland.
http://www.grindtv.com/random/starling-murmurations-create-fantastic-show-in-scottish-sky/

   
I wondered whether starlings had
their schools, in which they taught their young,
and whether tuition there was free.

And did the students there have tests
and were the teachers graded too?
Did Danielson hit starlings too?

I shook my head.  I’d seen and heard
the murmuration on a screen,
as schools were just about to start.

I thank you, Diane Ravitch and
the one who sent this, Susan Schwartz,
and Dylan Winter for the clip.

But most of all, I thank the birds,
who fly across the heavens, free,
as  humans were—and still could be.

2015 September 6th, Sun, 12:26 pm
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York  
   

• http://dianeravitch.net/2015/09/06/this-beautiful-video-will-make-your-day/ (This leads to the video in the next link in this list.)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88UVJpQGi88  Dylan Winter and the Starling Murmurations
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE   Starlings on Otmoor
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmO4Ellgmd0  Unbelievable Starlings
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V6qUUWa4zk  Starlings in Rome (This attempts to describe how the starlings manage their coordinated performance and how they evade predatory birds.)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFFJ8hTC_Q   Starlings Coming To Roost - Starling Murmuration in Cornwall England (This shows starlings roosting, in close-up.)