Birdsong, face it, some male machine
Audio Poem of the Day

Birdsong, face it, some male machine

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 30, 20261 min
  • One speaker

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Sentence 8 of 12 · 0:38

Build an ear for that. Fewer, they say. So many fewer, by far.

, , , , , , .

She's making the nest, where both are,

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  • C10:38
  • B20:38
  • B20:47
  • B21:00

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 43%A2 43%B1 7%B2 7%C1 0%
  • 93% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 121 words a minute: slow, clear speech.
  • 4 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This poem concerns one of the most curious facts about birds that only the males sing. The title is the first line so I'll just jump right into it. Bird song, face it, some male machine gone, addled. Repeat, repeat, the damage keeps doing the world ending then starting,

0:21

the first word the last, etc. It's that, etc. How to love? Is a wire just loose? Build an ear for that. Fewer, they say. So many fewer, by far. He's showing off to call her back, or claiming the tree, or a complaint, the food around here, the ants, the moths, the berries.

0:47

She's making the nest, where both are, In feathers, in hair, or twigs, in rootlets and tinfoil, Shiny bits seen from a distance, a mistake. But fate has reasons to dress up.

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