photo of a bluebird in Texas (gudonark)‘Mr. Bluebird’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society February 24, 2025 Beauty, Poetry, Satire, Triolet, Villanelle 28 Comments . Mr. Bluebird Your spirit rose before I spied your form. It dulled the winter sting and stilled the storm. Your warming warble quelled the bitter chill— __A merry trill. I saw you perched upon a leafless limb— A feathered chorister of crystal hymn. Your pristine chirrup sliced through ire and ill— __A cheery trill. Your jubilance outshone the gloomy noon In sylvan tunes as mystic as the moon Spilling from your beaver-busy bill— __A chirpy trill. Your zesty zip-a-dee of sunshine glee Zapped the dormant, doo-dah heart of me With an actual satisfactual thrill— __A chipper trill. On springless days when slouching on my couch Your lilting echo slays my inner grouch With songs as jocund as a daffodil— __A golden trill. . . The Last Laugh a villanelle May justice kiss the fringes of the day As mist and mud and smoke and mirrors clear. May karma clobber clowns who go astray. May fate berate the bounders who betray Unguarded hearts that hold devotion dear. May justice kiss the fringes of the day. The unforgiving sun—each roaring ray— Is out to melt some good-as-gold veneer. May karma clobber clowns who go astray. The cosmos cradles dreams that float away On airy pledges from the insincere. May justice kiss the fringes of the day. The stars soothe sorest sighs of raw dismay From souls who sink beneath a spleenful sneer. May karma clobber clowns who go astray. The moon has witnessed jeering jesters pay For every mocking shock and searing tear. May justice kiss the fringes of the day. May karma clobber clowns who go astray. . . The Last of Human Freedoms a triolet The right to choose one’s attitude Outs the inner saint or sinner. Huffy? Happy? Kindly? Rude? The right to choose one’s attitude Sorts the civil from the crude. Grouchy loser? Gracious winner? The right to choose one’s attitude Outs the inner saint or sinner. . . Susan Jarvis Bryant is a poet originally from the U.K., now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 28 Responses Paul A. Freeman February 24, 2025 You got me with ‘warming warble’, and it was difficult to get ‘Mr Blue Sky’ out of my head once I read the title. Plus, ‘Your ace alliteration’s rather brill.’ ‘Last Laugh’, I found to be a poem of our time. Not much justice or karma around these days, which made Mr Bluebird all the more precious. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Thank you, Paul. Ahh, the toe-tapping, joy-inducing ELO – what fond memories. As for justice, I think it was Benjamin Disraeli who said: “Justice is truth in action” – relativism kills truth, which is why we have very little justice in today’s society. Reply Mark Stellinga February 24, 2025 Susan, sadly, we don’t see many bluebirds up here, but our Cardinals, which are plentiful, frequently treat us to their catchy little trill. Wonderful piece for a Monday morning. 🙂 ‘Last Laugh’ is a very ambitious, uplifting and ‘fitting’ prayer, which is now being answered with a slew of nation-saving corrections – and I can’t imagine there ever having been more ‘outing’ than what we’ve experienced over the past few sorely mismanaged years. My, oh my, what ‘perfect meter & rhyme’ can deliver! You give so many poets an extremely lofty peak-of-perfection to try reaching. “Hi” to Mike – Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Mark, I’m glad you enjoyed these. Thank you very much for your appreciation and encouragement. I’ve only seen two bluebirds since moving to Texas. This poem was inspired by one I saw in a nearby park. He managed to cheer a particularly sad day. I simply had to write about him… I didn’t intend the poem to take the course it did… it was one of those stubborn poems that refused to bend to my will. Let’s hope the ‘outing’ you mention brings about culpability and permanent change – I wait with crossed fingers and bated breath. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson February 24, 2025 1.) As each alliterative verse progressed and as the final rhyme was so adeptly variegated, “Mr. Bluebird” was a “thrill” to read. 2.) There is a considerable depth of thought and motivation behind the “veneer” in writing “The Last Laugh.” May justice and karma come into play and “clobber the clowns who go astray.” 3.) Similarly, there is a great hidden meaning and message behind the title of “The Last of Human Freedoms,” which significantly settles on “attitude” as the last freedom we have while free speech has become overwhelmed by a politically incorrect society of mad hatters. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Roy, thank you very much for your considered and spot-on comment. I particularly like your “politically incorrect society of mad hatters” image – it paints a vivid picture of the current insanity. Thank goodness there’s a glimmer of common sense on the horizon… let’s hope it’s soon at full beam. With much appreciation. Reply Cheryl A Corey February 24, 2025 How fortuitous that you’ve written a poem about bluebirds–just yesterday I saw a couple of them pecking away on a suet feeder. Bluebirds of happiness, I say. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Bluebirds of happiness, indeed! They’re adorable and I love their song. One cannot fail to smile upon hearing them. May bluebirds continue to peck away on your suet feeder and fill your backyard with joy. Thank you, Cheryl. Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 24, 2025 Susan, a triolet! This is one of my favorite forms, and yet very few formal metricists seem willing to use it. It has the repetition and limited rhyme of a villanelle, but in the concision of eight lines. It also has the rhetorical capacity to zero in on a subject with laser-like accuracy. A few analytical comments on your “Mr. Bluebird” poem. I notice that there are very few words that end with the /s/ sound. A quick count gives me “leafless,” “tunes,” “springless,” “slays,” and “songs,” and three of these are in the last section. I am sensitive to sound in poetry, and the absence or limitation of the final /s/ sound always makes a poem tougher, more forceful, and incisive. Too many final /s/ sounds make a poem sentimental, syrupy, and schmaltzy. By saving them for the last section, you make your closure emotional, which is what you want. I don’t know if this was conscious or not, but it works out quite well. You also give a solid example of poetic license in your last section. By the rules of strict grammar, the words “slouching on my couch” are a dangling participle that formally connects to “Your lilting echo.” In a shorter poem this would have stood out as a glaring error, but here, in this longer developed piece, it is clear to the reader that the participial phrase must be understood as connected with the speaker. In a heavily inflected language like Greek or Latin, this issue would never come up — the participle would be visibly connected by spelling to its referent. But in English we are allowed some leeway and latitude. I love the alliteration in “The Last Laugh.” Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Joe, I thoroughly appreciate your close reading and your analyses – a huge privilege. The triolet is a favorite form of mine for the very reason you point out – “to zero in on a subject with laser-like accuracy” is an asset when getting a point across creatively. The triolet is, indeed, perfect for this. Your comments on the aural aspects of “Mr. Bluebird” are most interesting. I wasn’t aware that I had limited the s sounds until the close of the poem. It just happened and I’m thrilled it worked. I love sibilance for its onomatopoeic effects with hissing snakes and swishing oceans. I also love it for mood – hushed, surreptitious shenanigans etc. but I had never consciously considered its sentimental effects. It makes perfect sense, and I think I may have used it instinctually. As for my dangling participle, you’ve been most kind. As meticulous as I am with my poems, this was an oversight on my part that is now calling me to do something with it. As editing is a favorite pastime of mine – I will relish the challenge. I’ve got a quick replacement, but I’m not sure if it loses something and poetic license might be the way to go: On springless days I slouch upon my couch Recalling coos to shoo my inner grouch – Your ditty – pretty as a daffodil – A golden trill. As alliteration is my thing, I am especially glad you enjoyed it in “The Last Laugh.” Thank you very much indeed! One of the reasons I love this site is the learning aspect. I am always learning – a good thing for someone who loves learning and has recently learned that the older she gets the less she knows. Reply Cynthia Erlandson February 24, 2025 Who else but you, Susan — with your imagination, which is saturated with both brilliance and humor — would come up with phrases like, “beaver-busy bill”, “doo-dah heart”, and “my inner grouch”? Or invent “satisfactual” to rhyme (internally, no less!) with actual? And then, more! Has anyone else ever imagined justice kissing the fringes of the day? Or even imagined that a day has fringes? Or a “spleenful sneer”? (Shaking my head laughing!) Reply Rohini February 24, 2025 I absolutely agree. Susan’s poetry always touches one’s head and heart. Those were my thoughts too ‘satisfactual’ totally, love it! And I loved those references to Wordsworth’s Daffodils: …when slouching on my couch/ as jocund as a daffodil! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Rohini, thank you so very much. I am especially thrilled you noticed my nod to Wordsworth. Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Cynthia, I am thrilled you enjoyed my latest offerings. Thank you so much for your appreciation. On this occasion, however, I must admit to borrowing the “doo-dah” term and that fantastic “satisfactual” word from the Zip a Dee Doo Dah song from the 1946 Disney film, “Song of the South”. The song mentions “Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder” which is why I chose the “Mr.” for my title and dropped a couple of references in the body of my poem. Sadly, due to insidious idiocy, this film has been demonized. Reply Jeff Eardley February 24, 2025 Susan, the only time we have seen Bluebirds was at the Devil’s Tower in Montana on our last trip to the States. I recall singing “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah” on that my, my, my what a wonderful day. The power of wildlife to lift depression is in your wonderful poem. “The Last Laugh” has so many good lines and “The Last of Human Freedoms” reminds me that I have been “Huffy, Happy, Kindly and Rude” and that is just today! You are a truly Gracious Winner. Great Stuff. Belated Happy New Year to you and Mike. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Jeff, how lovely to hear from you with a huge grin of a comment that homes straight in on the nod to that joyous song… I can hear you singing it as I type. How wonderful to witness those Montana bluebirds. I used to look for bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover and never saw one… such was the power of Vera’s persuasion. What a man of varying moods you are – I think you may have a splash of Hamlet surging through your veins. I love your comment on the power of wildlife… the wilder the better – it’s what keeps me sane. Jeff, thank you very much and very Happy New Year to you and Lesley! Reply Yael February 24, 2025 Thank you for the uplifting word art Susan, I enjoyed it! God bless you. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Yael, thank you very much for your beautiful comment – “uplifting word art” – I love it and I’m going to wear it with a grin. May God bless you too! Reply Julian D. Woodruff February 24, 2025 A clever, uplifting trio, Susan. “On springless days when slouching on my couch”–that’s a great line. Your bluebird poem reminds me of the facetious gangster lament in Porter’s Anything Goes: “Be like the bluebird, who never is blue …” But I also wondered if you were alluding to the song from the old (now disowned) Disney cartoon The Song of the South, with its line “Everything is satisfactual” (or satisfactural?) Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Julian, thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I really appreciate your knowledge on music and musicals. I was indeed referring Zip a Dee Doo Dah… and rather cheekily stole that word satisfactual to add to another favorite of mine – runcible, invented by the late, great Edward Lear. The English language would be so much poorer without it. And as for the bluebird never being blue – I know from my upbringing what singing can do, which is why I love Zip a Dee Doo Dah. My grandmother used to sing it to me, Mike’s mother used to sing it to him, and we now sing it to our cat who has a new respect for our feathered friends. Reply Margaret Coats February 24, 2025 Mr. Bluebird with a beaver-busy bill! We’re used to busy bees, but beavers are more constructive–of cheer and merriment. A happy addition to your gallery of birds, Susan. I am much impressed by the triolet, too. Joe remarks that relatively few poets create in this form, and I believe that’s because it is difficult to succeed, as you do with this gracious attitude enhancer. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Margaret, thank you. I love beavers and triolets – not necessarily in that order. Reply Shamik Banerjee February 25, 2025 So melodious each piece is, Susan. I like the sing-song approach to Mr. Bluebird. It’s effortless and can be memorised easily—a trait of great poetry! Thanks for sharing these. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Shamik, thank you very much for reading and commenting. I am especially glad you liked the musicality of the poem. Your poems are often imbued with a musical quality which makes them great to read aloud. I thoroughly appreciate your words of appreciation and encouragement. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 25, 2025 This trio of delightful poems, Susan, reminds me of why I treasure this site and the extraordinary craft that many of the poets here demonstrate. Your work is, as always, impeccably wrought and – even more importantly – full of heart. That gives a timelessness to your work which convinces me that people will be reading it 100 years from now. The triolet is a delightful bauble which zeroes in on a tremendously serious subject but with a quick flash of insight as well as craft. It obviously has life on its own as a near-perfect poem, but it would also make a very good epigraph for a discussion of the inner workings of the mind and how minds render reality. It is not an exact match, but I’m reminded of J.K. Rowling’s wise insight via Dumbledore: ““It is our choices, Harry, that show us who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Saint or sinner? It depends not on our gifts or intentions nearly so much as how we choose to use them. And describing this titularly as “The Last of Human Freedoms”… How you remind me of Viktor Frankl and the determination of how to find meaning in life. “Man’s Search for Meaning” could almost be considered the long version of the deep ponderings of these 8 lines and the question of how our inner lives determine our quality of life — even in captivity. That you can trigger such consideration in such a short, deceptively simple poem is no small achievement, Susan. The Last Laugh is a sardonic delight which invokes a plea for justice in the guise of an almost-comedy poem centered upon clown imagery. I say “almost-comedy” because there are funny and fun elements to it which offer a funhouse distortion to mask the seriousness of the hammer of karma that is being wielded. Specifically, your use of somewhat bouncy repetends and your pervasive use of alliteration (especially percussive “K” sounds for “karma” and the hard “C” of clown) creates a cacophonous and tongue-twisting effect which is both funny and harsh. The harshness triumphs as we view the judgment of karma clobbering clowns – deservedly. Who are these clowns? Look about you, world. The insincere. The souls who sink beneath a spleenful sneer (genius allusion to the concept of humorism and the autumnal associations of black bile depression derived from the spleen.) Karma is waiting. A most reassuring thought. As for “Mr. Bluebird” – this poem put me in a very happy mood! It is full of nature-joy but with the Disney associations of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” thrown in. Disney in those days was a wonderful source of family entertainment and Song of the South has been unjustly canceled as part of the Cultural Revolution purge that has demonized everything from Gone with the Wind to Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup. You are very transparent, I believe, in your borrowings from the song – an homage, is how I would characterize it. And it takes a skilled poet’s eye to even contemplate using an idiosyncratic coinage like “satisfactual” in a piece which is so joyful it’s almost giddy. I love how you impart to this bird all kinds of associations which range from religious to mystical to Wordsworthian to Disney. And never does it feel either forced or overdone. You get the happy tone exactly right. Now, in honor of the Zip-A-Dee” reference, I think this is a poem which would benefit greatly from some music. Shouldn’t this tuneful poem be seen as a wonderful lyric worthy of being transformed into a song? As always, Susan, the world feels like a better place because of your fine work. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 26, 2025 Brian, I am moved by your insightful, respectful, and beautiful comments on my poems. You really do have a knack for plumbing the depths of each work – appreciating then moving beyond the craft and uncovering the not-so-obvious aspects of each poem in a way that astounds and excites me. Thank you so very much! I love the Dumbledore quote you mention when discussing the triolet and I agree with every wise-wizard word. It was Victor Frankl I drew upon when I wrote the triolet and I am thrilled the title spoke to you. To my mind, “Man’s Search for Meaning” is one of the greatest books ever written. We now live in a world that diminishes personal responsibility, a world that makes Frankl’s words on personal choice so much more meaningful. I am so glad this great man’s message shone through. I am pleased you enjoyed the villanelle, and over the moon your appreciation for the aural input. I love that aspect of poetry. I’m also thrilled with your observations on humorism. The four humors have fascinated me since the age of fourteen when studying Chaucer. As for the “clowns” – yes, they are “the insincere”. I am glad you saw the karma in this poem as reassuring, Brian. That’s because you’re most certainly on the right side of history. As you well know, the Truth matters. Your wonderful words on “Mr. Bluebird” let me know I’ve achieved exactly what I set out to do, and that was to make everyone toe-tappingly happy! I’m glad you spotted all the influences I drew upon to get to that state of joy. I was very deliberate in my nod to “The Song of the South” – how awful that so many classic films that brought joy to many are now cast aside on ideological whims. It would be great to have my poem set to music. It’s a pity I’m not at all talented in that field. Brian, I adore writing poetry, and it’s comments like this that make me adore it all the more. Thanks again! Reply Jonathan Kinsman February 26, 2025 “A feathered chorister of crystal hymn.” The perfect self-description of you, our Mrs Nightingale of lyrical delight! Good morning Mrs Bryant, from the cloudy-with-a-chance-of-clearing California! I have always appreciated the wit and wisdom (sly like a vixen at times) you wield so easily. I also, as an accessory before the fact, admire the deceptively simple rhythms and rhyme of the poems you post throughout the Forest of Arden. You are a poet after mine own trope! I have always turned an idiom or cliche on its stiletto heels to reform its meaning, or, to make an allusion that otherwise would be lost on the reader. The purpose and power of puns and wit. You are masterly in this, Mistress. And I have always enjoyed a fellow poet who plays with the elasticity of language and cultural expectations. Now to the sweeping away of some cobwebs in my attic. After reading your villanelle and triolet. I have come to an epiphanic moment. And I am sure that I am not the first. As a Latin Rite Catholic (commonly referred to as ‘Roman’), I am aware that our Liturgy comes from the Gallic Canon of the Mass, from the ‘Daughter of the Church,’ Belle France. And your villanelle and triolet, in form and function, recall the Litanies and Responsorial Psalms of my Faith. What better way to instill Beauty or to contrast degrading human activity to the Ideal than these time tested forms? Thank you again for the morning read! I can now face my cheery cheeked 8th graders as we wade into the Wilds of English. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 26, 2025 Jonathan, thank you very for this rich and rewarding comment that is a poem in itself. I love the comparison of turning idioms on their “stiletto heels” – what a marvelous metaphor! I have a feeling our muses are neighbors in the “Forest of Arden” singing witty ditties of wonder. Your comment beams with a love of language, liturgy, and teaching. Every line of it has me smiling and nodding in agreement… and wishing I was in your class wading into the Wilds of English along with your cheeky 8th graders. I thoroughly appreciate your support and your inspiration! My heart is singing along with Mr. Bluebird. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Paul A. Freeman February 24, 2025 You got me with ‘warming warble’, and it was difficult to get ‘Mr Blue Sky’ out of my head once I read the title. Plus, ‘Your ace alliteration’s rather brill.’ ‘Last Laugh’, I found to be a poem of our time. Not much justice or karma around these days, which made Mr Bluebird all the more precious. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Thank you, Paul. Ahh, the toe-tapping, joy-inducing ELO – what fond memories. As for justice, I think it was Benjamin Disraeli who said: “Justice is truth in action” – relativism kills truth, which is why we have very little justice in today’s society. Reply
Mark Stellinga February 24, 2025 Susan, sadly, we don’t see many bluebirds up here, but our Cardinals, which are plentiful, frequently treat us to their catchy little trill. Wonderful piece for a Monday morning. 🙂 ‘Last Laugh’ is a very ambitious, uplifting and ‘fitting’ prayer, which is now being answered with a slew of nation-saving corrections – and I can’t imagine there ever having been more ‘outing’ than what we’ve experienced over the past few sorely mismanaged years. My, oh my, what ‘perfect meter & rhyme’ can deliver! You give so many poets an extremely lofty peak-of-perfection to try reaching. “Hi” to Mike – Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Mark, I’m glad you enjoyed these. Thank you very much for your appreciation and encouragement. I’ve only seen two bluebirds since moving to Texas. This poem was inspired by one I saw in a nearby park. He managed to cheer a particularly sad day. I simply had to write about him… I didn’t intend the poem to take the course it did… it was one of those stubborn poems that refused to bend to my will. Let’s hope the ‘outing’ you mention brings about culpability and permanent change – I wait with crossed fingers and bated breath. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson February 24, 2025 1.) As each alliterative verse progressed and as the final rhyme was so adeptly variegated, “Mr. Bluebird” was a “thrill” to read. 2.) There is a considerable depth of thought and motivation behind the “veneer” in writing “The Last Laugh.” May justice and karma come into play and “clobber the clowns who go astray.” 3.) Similarly, there is a great hidden meaning and message behind the title of “The Last of Human Freedoms,” which significantly settles on “attitude” as the last freedom we have while free speech has become overwhelmed by a politically incorrect society of mad hatters. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Roy, thank you very much for your considered and spot-on comment. I particularly like your “politically incorrect society of mad hatters” image – it paints a vivid picture of the current insanity. Thank goodness there’s a glimmer of common sense on the horizon… let’s hope it’s soon at full beam. With much appreciation. Reply
Cheryl A Corey February 24, 2025 How fortuitous that you’ve written a poem about bluebirds–just yesterday I saw a couple of them pecking away on a suet feeder. Bluebirds of happiness, I say. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Bluebirds of happiness, indeed! They’re adorable and I love their song. One cannot fail to smile upon hearing them. May bluebirds continue to peck away on your suet feeder and fill your backyard with joy. Thank you, Cheryl. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 24, 2025 Susan, a triolet! This is one of my favorite forms, and yet very few formal metricists seem willing to use it. It has the repetition and limited rhyme of a villanelle, but in the concision of eight lines. It also has the rhetorical capacity to zero in on a subject with laser-like accuracy. A few analytical comments on your “Mr. Bluebird” poem. I notice that there are very few words that end with the /s/ sound. A quick count gives me “leafless,” “tunes,” “springless,” “slays,” and “songs,” and three of these are in the last section. I am sensitive to sound in poetry, and the absence or limitation of the final /s/ sound always makes a poem tougher, more forceful, and incisive. Too many final /s/ sounds make a poem sentimental, syrupy, and schmaltzy. By saving them for the last section, you make your closure emotional, which is what you want. I don’t know if this was conscious or not, but it works out quite well. You also give a solid example of poetic license in your last section. By the rules of strict grammar, the words “slouching on my couch” are a dangling participle that formally connects to “Your lilting echo.” In a shorter poem this would have stood out as a glaring error, but here, in this longer developed piece, it is clear to the reader that the participial phrase must be understood as connected with the speaker. In a heavily inflected language like Greek or Latin, this issue would never come up — the participle would be visibly connected by spelling to its referent. But in English we are allowed some leeway and latitude. I love the alliteration in “The Last Laugh.” Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Joe, I thoroughly appreciate your close reading and your analyses – a huge privilege. The triolet is a favorite form of mine for the very reason you point out – “to zero in on a subject with laser-like accuracy” is an asset when getting a point across creatively. The triolet is, indeed, perfect for this. Your comments on the aural aspects of “Mr. Bluebird” are most interesting. I wasn’t aware that I had limited the s sounds until the close of the poem. It just happened and I’m thrilled it worked. I love sibilance for its onomatopoeic effects with hissing snakes and swishing oceans. I also love it for mood – hushed, surreptitious shenanigans etc. but I had never consciously considered its sentimental effects. It makes perfect sense, and I think I may have used it instinctually. As for my dangling participle, you’ve been most kind. As meticulous as I am with my poems, this was an oversight on my part that is now calling me to do something with it. As editing is a favorite pastime of mine – I will relish the challenge. I’ve got a quick replacement, but I’m not sure if it loses something and poetic license might be the way to go: On springless days I slouch upon my couch Recalling coos to shoo my inner grouch – Your ditty – pretty as a daffodil – A golden trill. As alliteration is my thing, I am especially glad you enjoyed it in “The Last Laugh.” Thank you very much indeed! One of the reasons I love this site is the learning aspect. I am always learning – a good thing for someone who loves learning and has recently learned that the older she gets the less she knows. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson February 24, 2025 Who else but you, Susan — with your imagination, which is saturated with both brilliance and humor — would come up with phrases like, “beaver-busy bill”, “doo-dah heart”, and “my inner grouch”? Or invent “satisfactual” to rhyme (internally, no less!) with actual? And then, more! Has anyone else ever imagined justice kissing the fringes of the day? Or even imagined that a day has fringes? Or a “spleenful sneer”? (Shaking my head laughing!) Reply
Rohini February 24, 2025 I absolutely agree. Susan’s poetry always touches one’s head and heart. Those were my thoughts too ‘satisfactual’ totally, love it! And I loved those references to Wordsworth’s Daffodils: …when slouching on my couch/ as jocund as a daffodil! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Rohini, thank you so very much. I am especially thrilled you noticed my nod to Wordsworth.
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 24, 2025 Cynthia, I am thrilled you enjoyed my latest offerings. Thank you so much for your appreciation. On this occasion, however, I must admit to borrowing the “doo-dah” term and that fantastic “satisfactual” word from the Zip a Dee Doo Dah song from the 1946 Disney film, “Song of the South”. The song mentions “Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder” which is why I chose the “Mr.” for my title and dropped a couple of references in the body of my poem. Sadly, due to insidious idiocy, this film has been demonized. Reply
Jeff Eardley February 24, 2025 Susan, the only time we have seen Bluebirds was at the Devil’s Tower in Montana on our last trip to the States. I recall singing “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah” on that my, my, my what a wonderful day. The power of wildlife to lift depression is in your wonderful poem. “The Last Laugh” has so many good lines and “The Last of Human Freedoms” reminds me that I have been “Huffy, Happy, Kindly and Rude” and that is just today! You are a truly Gracious Winner. Great Stuff. Belated Happy New Year to you and Mike. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Jeff, how lovely to hear from you with a huge grin of a comment that homes straight in on the nod to that joyous song… I can hear you singing it as I type. How wonderful to witness those Montana bluebirds. I used to look for bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover and never saw one… such was the power of Vera’s persuasion. What a man of varying moods you are – I think you may have a splash of Hamlet surging through your veins. I love your comment on the power of wildlife… the wilder the better – it’s what keeps me sane. Jeff, thank you very much and very Happy New Year to you and Lesley! Reply
Yael February 24, 2025 Thank you for the uplifting word art Susan, I enjoyed it! God bless you. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Yael, thank you very much for your beautiful comment – “uplifting word art” – I love it and I’m going to wear it with a grin. May God bless you too! Reply
Julian D. Woodruff February 24, 2025 A clever, uplifting trio, Susan. “On springless days when slouching on my couch”–that’s a great line. Your bluebird poem reminds me of the facetious gangster lament in Porter’s Anything Goes: “Be like the bluebird, who never is blue …” But I also wondered if you were alluding to the song from the old (now disowned) Disney cartoon The Song of the South, with its line “Everything is satisfactual” (or satisfactural?) Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Julian, thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I really appreciate your knowledge on music and musicals. I was indeed referring Zip a Dee Doo Dah… and rather cheekily stole that word satisfactual to add to another favorite of mine – runcible, invented by the late, great Edward Lear. The English language would be so much poorer without it. And as for the bluebird never being blue – I know from my upbringing what singing can do, which is why I love Zip a Dee Doo Dah. My grandmother used to sing it to me, Mike’s mother used to sing it to him, and we now sing it to our cat who has a new respect for our feathered friends. Reply
Margaret Coats February 24, 2025 Mr. Bluebird with a beaver-busy bill! We’re used to busy bees, but beavers are more constructive–of cheer and merriment. A happy addition to your gallery of birds, Susan. I am much impressed by the triolet, too. Joe remarks that relatively few poets create in this form, and I believe that’s because it is difficult to succeed, as you do with this gracious attitude enhancer. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Margaret, thank you. I love beavers and triolets – not necessarily in that order. Reply
Shamik Banerjee February 25, 2025 So melodious each piece is, Susan. I like the sing-song approach to Mr. Bluebird. It’s effortless and can be memorised easily—a trait of great poetry! Thanks for sharing these. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 25, 2025 Shamik, thank you very much for reading and commenting. I am especially glad you liked the musicality of the poem. Your poems are often imbued with a musical quality which makes them great to read aloud. I thoroughly appreciate your words of appreciation and encouragement. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 25, 2025 This trio of delightful poems, Susan, reminds me of why I treasure this site and the extraordinary craft that many of the poets here demonstrate. Your work is, as always, impeccably wrought and – even more importantly – full of heart. That gives a timelessness to your work which convinces me that people will be reading it 100 years from now. The triolet is a delightful bauble which zeroes in on a tremendously serious subject but with a quick flash of insight as well as craft. It obviously has life on its own as a near-perfect poem, but it would also make a very good epigraph for a discussion of the inner workings of the mind and how minds render reality. It is not an exact match, but I’m reminded of J.K. Rowling’s wise insight via Dumbledore: ““It is our choices, Harry, that show us who we really are, far more than our abilities.” Saint or sinner? It depends not on our gifts or intentions nearly so much as how we choose to use them. And describing this titularly as “The Last of Human Freedoms”… How you remind me of Viktor Frankl and the determination of how to find meaning in life. “Man’s Search for Meaning” could almost be considered the long version of the deep ponderings of these 8 lines and the question of how our inner lives determine our quality of life — even in captivity. That you can trigger such consideration in such a short, deceptively simple poem is no small achievement, Susan. The Last Laugh is a sardonic delight which invokes a plea for justice in the guise of an almost-comedy poem centered upon clown imagery. I say “almost-comedy” because there are funny and fun elements to it which offer a funhouse distortion to mask the seriousness of the hammer of karma that is being wielded. Specifically, your use of somewhat bouncy repetends and your pervasive use of alliteration (especially percussive “K” sounds for “karma” and the hard “C” of clown) creates a cacophonous and tongue-twisting effect which is both funny and harsh. The harshness triumphs as we view the judgment of karma clobbering clowns – deservedly. Who are these clowns? Look about you, world. The insincere. The souls who sink beneath a spleenful sneer (genius allusion to the concept of humorism and the autumnal associations of black bile depression derived from the spleen.) Karma is waiting. A most reassuring thought. As for “Mr. Bluebird” – this poem put me in a very happy mood! It is full of nature-joy but with the Disney associations of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” thrown in. Disney in those days was a wonderful source of family entertainment and Song of the South has been unjustly canceled as part of the Cultural Revolution purge that has demonized everything from Gone with the Wind to Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup. You are very transparent, I believe, in your borrowings from the song – an homage, is how I would characterize it. And it takes a skilled poet’s eye to even contemplate using an idiosyncratic coinage like “satisfactual” in a piece which is so joyful it’s almost giddy. I love how you impart to this bird all kinds of associations which range from religious to mystical to Wordsworthian to Disney. And never does it feel either forced or overdone. You get the happy tone exactly right. Now, in honor of the Zip-A-Dee” reference, I think this is a poem which would benefit greatly from some music. Shouldn’t this tuneful poem be seen as a wonderful lyric worthy of being transformed into a song? As always, Susan, the world feels like a better place because of your fine work. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 26, 2025 Brian, I am moved by your insightful, respectful, and beautiful comments on my poems. You really do have a knack for plumbing the depths of each work – appreciating then moving beyond the craft and uncovering the not-so-obvious aspects of each poem in a way that astounds and excites me. Thank you so very much! I love the Dumbledore quote you mention when discussing the triolet and I agree with every wise-wizard word. It was Victor Frankl I drew upon when I wrote the triolet and I am thrilled the title spoke to you. To my mind, “Man’s Search for Meaning” is one of the greatest books ever written. We now live in a world that diminishes personal responsibility, a world that makes Frankl’s words on personal choice so much more meaningful. I am so glad this great man’s message shone through. I am pleased you enjoyed the villanelle, and over the moon your appreciation for the aural input. I love that aspect of poetry. I’m also thrilled with your observations on humorism. The four humors have fascinated me since the age of fourteen when studying Chaucer. As for the “clowns” – yes, they are “the insincere”. I am glad you saw the karma in this poem as reassuring, Brian. That’s because you’re most certainly on the right side of history. As you well know, the Truth matters. Your wonderful words on “Mr. Bluebird” let me know I’ve achieved exactly what I set out to do, and that was to make everyone toe-tappingly happy! I’m glad you spotted all the influences I drew upon to get to that state of joy. I was very deliberate in my nod to “The Song of the South” – how awful that so many classic films that brought joy to many are now cast aside on ideological whims. It would be great to have my poem set to music. It’s a pity I’m not at all talented in that field. Brian, I adore writing poetry, and it’s comments like this that make me adore it all the more. Thanks again! Reply
Jonathan Kinsman February 26, 2025 “A feathered chorister of crystal hymn.” The perfect self-description of you, our Mrs Nightingale of lyrical delight! Good morning Mrs Bryant, from the cloudy-with-a-chance-of-clearing California! I have always appreciated the wit and wisdom (sly like a vixen at times) you wield so easily. I also, as an accessory before the fact, admire the deceptively simple rhythms and rhyme of the poems you post throughout the Forest of Arden. You are a poet after mine own trope! I have always turned an idiom or cliche on its stiletto heels to reform its meaning, or, to make an allusion that otherwise would be lost on the reader. The purpose and power of puns and wit. You are masterly in this, Mistress. And I have always enjoyed a fellow poet who plays with the elasticity of language and cultural expectations. Now to the sweeping away of some cobwebs in my attic. After reading your villanelle and triolet. I have come to an epiphanic moment. And I am sure that I am not the first. As a Latin Rite Catholic (commonly referred to as ‘Roman’), I am aware that our Liturgy comes from the Gallic Canon of the Mass, from the ‘Daughter of the Church,’ Belle France. And your villanelle and triolet, in form and function, recall the Litanies and Responsorial Psalms of my Faith. What better way to instill Beauty or to contrast degrading human activity to the Ideal than these time tested forms? Thank you again for the morning read! I can now face my cheery cheeked 8th graders as we wade into the Wilds of English. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 26, 2025 Jonathan, thank you very for this rich and rewarding comment that is a poem in itself. I love the comparison of turning idioms on their “stiletto heels” – what a marvelous metaphor! I have a feeling our muses are neighbors in the “Forest of Arden” singing witty ditties of wonder. Your comment beams with a love of language, liturgy, and teaching. Every line of it has me smiling and nodding in agreement… and wishing I was in your class wading into the Wilds of English along with your cheeky 8th graders. I thoroughly appreciate your support and your inspiration! My heart is singing along with Mr. Bluebird. Reply
