Have you heard the wood thrush this summer? He is an unassuming little bird in terms of appearance, but don’t be deceived! The wood thrush is unique for his Y-shaped voice box! This means that his voice magically splits and harmonizes with itself on the final notes of his trademark song, what humans have anthropomorphized as follows: Come to me. Here I am. Right near you.
The wood thrush spends his summers in the Eastern U.S., where he sings to attract a mate and together they raise their young in the deep woods, where he is far more likely to be heard than seen. We have a very vocal wood thrush in the woods outside our house and his voice sails through the air like the first notes of a flute, which makes him stand out from the cacophony of the other birds. Click here to hear him sing.
For all of these reasons, I chose to feature the wood thrush in the title poem of my first-ever poetry collection, Waiting for the Wood Thrush, which is being published by Finishing Line Press and has been described by celebrated poet and fiction writer Ruth Moose as “Witty, wise, overflowing with life and color, grace, and the goodness in our lives….”
Waiting for the Wood Thrush is now available for pre-order through September 13 by the publisher, Finishing Line Press. Pre-order sales help the author and publisher because they help determine the quantity of the first press run. As a personal favor, I hope you’ll order my book soon, but I wouldn’t ask you unless I believed you might enjoy it.
Click here to order Waiting for the Wood Thrush online. You may also order by sending a check for $14.99 (please include $2.99 per copy for shipping) to Finishing Line Press at P.O. Box 1626, Georgetown, KY 40324.
If you’ve ordered a copy already, I sincerely thank you. Finishing Line Press will be shipping all copies around November 8, which means it will arrive well in time for your holiday shopping.
And who wouldn’t like to get a book of poetry for Christmas? 🙂
Ashley Memory 
Dear Ashley,
I too love this bird song so much. We hadn’t heard it for a few years but they are back in our woods now! We use a different anthromorphism: *Drink your tea.* This bird’s song brings joy – what a treasure you have, and we do too.
Congratulations on your new book. It will surely be fabulous. I hope you will bring some in to sell and do a book reading at the Joyful Jewel.
Peace, Mariah
On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 10:21 AM Cherries and Chekhov wrote:
> Ashley Memory posted: “Have you heard the wood thrush this summer? He is > an unassuming little bird in terms of appearance, but don’t be deceived! > The wood thrush is unique for his Y-shaped voice box! This means that his > voice magically splits and harmonizes with itself on the f” >
Thank you Mariah! I hope this helps our little friend. Scientists are worried that the deforestation is hurting their numbers but I couldn’t imagine summers without them. And I would love to do a reading at The Joyful Jewel…I will be in touch! Have a good weekend!