Keeper of the dark, cold shores

Blackbirds travel long distances to find warmer habitats during winter. Except males – they remain up north, even for the coldest nights of the year. Why? Does this have something to do with their beautiful, golden beaks? Maybe... let's find out! The illustrations – from my half a millenia dead collaborator Albrecht Dürer – depict a blue roller instead of a blackbird, but his breathtaking image fits the tale so well, that his work became the natural companion of this poem.

Keeper of the dark, cold shores

Keeper of the dark, cold shores
Of winter nights and winter morns
Where trees go numb and stones grow old
— Why are you still here?

You gave away your sungold feathers
Keeper of the dark, cold shores —
One for the swallow, one for the finch
To help’em get to sun-kissed groves.

You called for the moon, the sanguine moon,
To wake her from her sleep,
And witches danced through stone-barked trees
While you mourned your golden gown.

The youngest witch, who lagged behind
And still searched for her dance,
Saw your beak, that sharp, black beak
On the snow-sowed forest’s ground.

“Keeper of the dark, cold shores
— Why are you still here?”

She picked you up, and danced her dance,
Grew taller than stone-barked trees,
Then lifted up your stiff, cold head
All the way to the sanguine glaze

You sipped long from her ambrose shine
Keeper of the dark, cold shores —
And your beak turned gold like long-gone days
— That’s why you are still here?

Budapest, 17th of October, 2021

Illustrations: Albrecht Dürer’s Dead Blue Roller, from circa 1500