May poem: Song Fest

Ms. Sparrow in the apple tree starts the choir with her solo
the neighbor's chainsaw erupts to join in the chorus
birds on the electric wire scatter like confetti on parade day;
they don't care for the sour notes of the machine

Nancy...what were you trying to do in this poem? I like how it reads. I just wanted a "larger choir" before the interruption of the chainsaw.


Ms. Sparrow in the apple tree starts the choir with her solo
the neighbor's chainsaw erupts to join in the chorus
(Do you need "to join"? that seems implied)
birds on the electric wire scatter like confetti on parade day;
(Seems like the "birds" of this line are not part of the choir. I like parade day but it could be a specific date or parade too.)
they don't care for the sour notes of the machine
(what if you add musical lingo here: they don't care for the "harmony" "dissonance" "timbre")

Ms. Sparrow in the apple tree starts the choir with her solo
the neighbor's chainsaw erupts to join in the chorus
birds on the electric wire scatter like confetti on parade day;
they don't care for the sour notes of the machine.

I would like to get to know Ms. Sparrow better. Is the perch she sings from spared from the chainsaw? I had this uneasy feeling that the neighbor might be cutting down the very tree she has chosen for her solo. Were the birds on the wire singing their own song before they were scared off by the chainsaw? How do the notes of the chainsaw compare to the notes of a bird's song? If you have a choir what type singer would the chainsaw be linked to? With the mention of sour notes I definitely had the impression the chainsaw was offkey and out of tune with nature.

I like the detail of "electric wire" and "chainsaw." The birds have adapted to the electric wire as a gathering place. But they cannot adapt to the chainsaw. The sparrow/solo combination on line one definitely has a musical quality. What is the musical quality of the chainsaw? How does it compare to the sparrow? What is the musical quality of the birds leaving the electrical wire? Can you hear their wingbeats? Do they call to one another as they fly off?

Ms. Sparrow in the apple tree starts the choir with her solo
(we need more birds [or whaterver] to be a "chorus" before the chainsaw "joins the chorus." Mrs. Robin, Mr. Bluejay?)
the neighbor's chainsaw erupts to join in the chorus
birds on the electric wire scatter like confetti on parade day;
(are these birds part of the chorus? We haven't heard from them)
they don't care for the sour notes of the machine.
(I like the sugggestion to use a musical term for "sour notes")

I love the scattering like confetti!

Nancy - I had a thought about enlarging your choir. Maybe some neighborhood boys playing basketball and the thump thump of the ball could be the bass beat. Think about other neighborhood noises. I don't think you are limited to birds for the chorus, especially since you have a chainsaw!