baywing
Recently decided to put it on Youtube because why not! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ------------->
Following the death of his young brother, a boy attempts to find peace in a tumultuous household filled with small birds. Based on the short story, "The Cowbird and the Baywing."
Baywing began as a poem about a bird.
"The worst day began
When she opened the door
To the great black bird on the stoop
He wore a strange smile on his terrible beak
And dread fell upon my sweet mother's face
She pushed him right out
And he pushed in again
And he opened his terrible beak
As he let out a horrible shriek"
Excerpt, "The Worst Day"
Calvin Bishop, 2021
This image of a towering black bird pushing his way into a home startled me. It stuck with me. I didn't know why I chose to write him, but soon found that I couldn't stop. He entered all of the houses I wrote about, left his touch on all that I created. His physical appearance often changed - sometimes he wore a stovetop hat, often his eyes turned red. His laugh remained ever present.
I decided to write him purposefully, to determine his intentions. He's born from grief - unspoken tragedies. I learned this while writing "The Cowbird and The Baywing."
While I am incredibly proud of this short story, the visual elements of this piece were truly necessary to finish the narrative. I believe that "Baywing" is the final evolution of this harrowing bird - he's become fully materialized and now only exists in prior works.
None of it would have been possible without my wonderful community that fosters such a safe and encouraging environment. Everyone that I was lucky enough to work alongside has unspeakable amounts of talent and I feel so incredibly grateful.
'Baywing' was filmed in the historic Marvin L Thomas funeral home in Auburn, Nebraska.