A pigeons wing is a useless thing
when all it is is a pigeons wing
The parts that make it swoop and flit
are all the parts that come with it
© Wolfgar 2020
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Notes from life 
Disembodied things become mere objects their beauty and meaning diminished, the absence of the greater part highlighting the true purpose of the fragment. Neither able to fulfil its purpose without the other.
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Simple, sad and lovely David. This piece, while so very emotive in its brevity (it needn’t say more), also contains within it the core concept of Bill Brown’s “Thing Theory”:
“We begin to confront the thingness of objects when they stop working for us: when the drill breaks, when the car stalls, when the window gets filthy, when their flow within the circuits of production and distribution, consumption and exhibition, has been arrested, however momentarily. The story of objects asserting themselves as things, then, is the story of a changed relationship to the human subject and thus the story of how the thing really names less an object than a particular subject-object relation. As they circulate through our lives, we look through objects (to see what they disclose about history, society, nature, or culture – above all, what they disclose about us), but we only catch a glimpse of things.”
Within this poem, we are confronted with the “idea” of pigeons, the rainbowed neck, the bobbing head, the startled lift and the slap of panicked wings. And that idea becomes an amorphous thing, a vapor, a want. Lovely stuff. Great poem to stumble upon in the morning with the first cup of coffee.
D
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..seems to flow from a point of origin shared with “Meat”–that is, it seems also, as the wing, vital to its context.
This, together with other recent posts, has helped to make some of my own thoughts on objectification more coherent and concrete.
As it’s said, we are each greater the sum of our parts, and our suffering is nonlinear when we are unwillingly/unwittingly instrumentalised or otherwise abused through external agency.
I don’t want to be overly vague or complicated. I just want to say thanks for settling my thoughts in on something I can grasp.
Rachel
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I’ve caught up with this via facebook mate. The poem is a truism, and does remind me a little of the dislocation evident in MEAT, and takes us on a journey of analysis, rightly so! Devon’s observation has caught up with it, and now I’ve read the Thing theory. There is a whole world for me here, for I am a bit of hoarder – fear of loss syndrome I suppose, emotional supports for useless items, a sense of romance represented by objects or in some cases, things. Art has captured such material lavishly and offered sculptures, some brutal and ugly and others refined and practical. Things should serve our needs, but then we become in need of them. I offered used to think a parallel to this polarity in the idea that “do we take a car somewhere or does it take us?” An interwining process. However the pigeon’s wing also brings freedom into the picture albeit an unconscious one for the bird. Poetry like this does open doors if we are inquisitive and intuitive. A fine example of a fine mind applied!
Ray
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Thanks Rachel and Ray,
You are right to see the progression/association between this and “Meat” I have recently been pre-occupied (more than normal) with particular events which have led me down this path. It isn’t something I have done consciously but something which has come from deep inside me. At first I didn’t recognise the significance of the words in relation to my preoccupation. I started noticing changes in my behaviour which included disproportionate reactions to mildly annoying things, it caused me some worry, stress and unfortunately now some ongoing anxiety which I need to do something about.
Consequently any discussion or response is generally helpful at the moment, I am very grateful for all the time people spend reading and formulating responses to anything I scribble.
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Obviously thanks to you Devon,
I did respond on FB to your comments so forgot to do the same here. Your steer towards Bill Brown was excellent and has occupied me and Ray alike, so especially thanks for that.
David
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