One Bird Sings: Collected Poems
invites the reader into a panoply of images
celebrating life, love, nature and the cycles of the seasons.
Available at Uncial Press
"Betty Vos has the ability to see a world in a grain of sand…and eternity in an hour. She can sketch a wealth of picturesque details into a few lines. Her collection of poems titled One Bird Sings touched my heart with its lilting beauty and challenged my mind with its moving honesty." Barri Bryan, Eppie winning poet, author of What Will Suffice?
"Her vivid imagery brings alive numinous moments. She observes the seasons and wildlife around her in a way that invites emotional engagement. When Vos turns her hand to relationship, the same rich voice and painfully clear understanding works its magic, while her contemplations of spiritual life are engaging and thoughtful. This is a subtle, lyrical and very beautiful collection of poems." Brynneth Colvin, The Druid Network.
"Beginning with the first singing of a bird to start a new day, Vos takes us through some of the splendors that are ours for the taking...Even in the dead of winter, light is the dominant theme of these simple yet profound poems...This was a delightful read." MyShelf
SELECTED EXCERPTS:
One Bird Sings
There is a moment
When the first bird sings.
Before the sun streaks,
But after the stars pale,
One bird sings –
And even the darkest night
Must yield
To a new dawn.
Punctuation Marks
There are no happy endings –
only brief moments
of insignificant triumph
bracketed between
the last defeat
and the next downfall.
Life’s like that.
But I choose to punctuate
the same tumultuous sweep
from a different starting point,
marking the top of each wave,
savoring the moment before it tumbles,
holding it fast in my focus,
then fixing my gaze
on the next rising swell
even as I fall,
the way a ballerina’s eyes
spot her next turn
before the last one’s done,
counting the peaks
across my days
to hold me through
the night.