Mockingbird Dreams

What can she do, it's 12am:
a dripping faucet, ticking clocks,
mockingbirds mimicking crickets.
An elephant never forgets

these things and all that she regrets:
mockingbirds mimicking crickets,
a dripping faucet, ticking clocks --
What can she do? It's 12am.

[An Octo]
Copyright © | Year Posted 2026

Poem

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Gibbons Avatar
August 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Love this moon a great write ✍️ so love how it echos rather haunting hugzzz friend 🫂🌙
Harp Avatar
August 26, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Thanks for reading and appreciating my Octo. Hugs for you too, Dorothy. Moon Harp
Rodgers Avatar
August 25, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Rodgers Avatar
August 25, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Dear Moon Harp, The repetition inherent in the Octo form works brilliantly here, perfectly mimicking the maddening, cyclic nature of middle-of-the-night insomnia. That looping sequence, the faucet, the clocks, the crickets, mirrors the exact way a mind gets trapped in a loop when sleep won't come. A wonderfully relatable portrait MH of how the quietest hours often carry the loudest echoes. Blessings, Daniel
Harp Avatar
August 26, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Thank you, Daniel, for commenting on my Octo. I had fun with this one. Blessings to you as well. Moon Harp
Smith nee Howarth Avatar
August 25, 2026 at 5:35 AM
A beautifully wrought octo, with its circular repetition capturing the sleepless, obsessive rhythm of midnight thought. The recurring faucet, clocks, and mockingbirds create such vivid soundscape, while the elephant image adds a poignant weight of memory and regret. The return to the opening question feels especially effective: she is caught in the very loop the form creates.
Harp Avatar
August 26, 2026 at 12:21 AM
Thank you so much, Alison, for appreciating my Octo. And for giving such a good review of it. Moon Harp
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