Hjalmar’s Saga (a poem by Jerry Siegel)

Photo by Richard Bartz*
Wikipedia
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“A forest bird never wants a cage.”

– Henrik Ibsen

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Jerry, my husband, wrote this poem many years ago. “Hjalmar’s Saga” carries very special personal meaning for me, but it is also very accessible on a surface level, which is why I am sharing it on this blog. This is the poem’s first publication.

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Indeed, Henrik, you’ve made your point about

Zoology. The male wild duck survives

When in captivity, grows fat, appears

Content, remains quite placid, resting in boxes

Or on pillows. Paired with suitable tame stock

He may, with proper fostering, be induced

To nest, to mutter happy quacks, to father

Ducklings captive from the shell. He will,

Of course, not fly, but rather waddle, box

To nest and back in endless circuits, like

Some feathered friar, lost in thought. He never

Knows passion, wit, or blue horizons – curls

Restive, his family close, and sleeps much.

What you propose – to open wide the door

And see if he will, offered but the choice,

Now flee his attic woods – a dangerous

Experiment maybe. Perhaps he will

Remain. A well smelt nest stays warm and safe;

You’ve said as much. Outside will be – unknown.

And if he goes, he goes in peril. A captive

Duck can lose his bearings, stay aground,

Awaiting execution by a passing

Cat, a swift impalement on a hunter’s

Aim. And yet the chance exists. He may

Spread out his dormant wings,

Move them slowly once. Again. Ascend

At first to go alone unless by chance

Another lonely one, alive and wild

And disenchanted with her flock,

Appears by his side. That moment, he is

Lost to us – become again a wild duck.

They pause in recognition captive birds

Will never know. They tune in momentary

Response to vibrations old as the gods of life

That brought them together – pause – mate

In a magic midair ritual;

Hang there, radiant against the sun,

Wingtip to wingtip, and soar.

– April 1980

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“Hjalmar’s Saga,” copyright 1980-1014 by Jerry Siegel, may not be reprinted or reposted without permission of the poet.

*Be sure to visit Richard Bartz’s Wikimedia page. Stunning wildlife photography!