Post 1: Erin Holbrook

Telephone

BY DEVIN JOHNSTON

A mockingbird

perched on the hood

of a pay phone

half-buried in a hedge

of wild rose

and heard it ring

The clapper ball

trilled between

brass gongs

for two seconds

then wind

and then again

With head cocked

the bird took note

absorbed the ringing

deep in its throat

and frothed

an ebullient song

The leitmotif

of bright alarm

recurred in a run

from hawk

to meadowlark

from May to early June

The ringing spread

from syrinx to syrinx

from Kiowa

to Comanche to Clark

till someone

finally picked up

and heard a voice

on the other end

say Konza

or Consez or Kansa

which the French trappers

heard as Kaw

which is only the sound

of a word for wind

then only the sound of wind

"Telephone" from Poetry magazine, copyright 2014 by Devin Johnston

This poem touches most notably on the universal theme of human interaction with nature. It seems to illustrate an uneven relationship in which nature is the better half. This is exemplified with the Telephone effect, similar to the children's game where a simple phrase is changed dramatically after passed on through several sources. In this case, the bird listens to and repeats the sound of a phone ringing. He is implied to make the sound more beautiful/complex as he "[froths] an ebullient song" On the other end of the metaphorical telephone line, humans listen to the birds' complex enunciation but only hear "kaw". Humans simplify the more complex sound and then destroy it: "then only the sound of wind". The contrast of both creature's reactions to/ influence on the sound being passed along reflects a theme of humans as crude and destructive in the face of nature. Nature is portrayed here as graceful and artistic. The destructive interaction of humans and nature is repeated with the phrases "French Trappers" and "then only the sound of wind", with the implication being that humans have hunted the birds. 

This poem stood out to me with it's simple and elegant approach to a common theme. I thoroughly enjoyed the clear, vivid imagery. The poem also exhibited a circular pattern to it as it begins with communication of human to bird through a man-made device, and ends with communication of bird to human, providing a sense of closure despite possible dissatisfaction at the ending stanza.