Blue Elegies

Blue Elegies begins with an homage of sorts to the White Crane Kung Fu School of Martial Arts where Helen Ruggieri studied for 15 years. The poems in the first section honor the white crane. Historically martial arts schools imitate strengths of the animal. For example, a dragon may club, a crane may strike, sharp and accurate. The crane's strengths are feathers and beak. Certain movements exemplify each strength. A sweeping fling of one's left arm with the fingers spread demonstrates the movement of feathers; the sharp strike of the right arm, with the fingers pressed to the palm, the beak. Later sections celebrate common birds of the east--hummingbirds, cardinals, crows, owls, sparrows, etc. and the last section focuses on humans who demonstrate aspects of a bird. For example, they may sing like a bird, fly like a bird, and more. We go about our ordinary lives, unnoticed, as the birds ignore or tolerate us. Sometimes birds live in and off our discards deposited in Walmart parking lots and other desolate portions of human habitats. It's sad to see that bird numbers and the annual bird counts have noted their vanishing.