Best Cardinal Poems
a red cardinal
flies down on the silent grave -
the time for closure
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For the contest of Tania Kitchin
19th January, 2021
Placed 3rd
The years have stolen details from my mind.
Your face, once clear, has faded like a print
Within an album ready to unbind
And plunder from this sadness any hint
Of thinning strands and laughing lines around
The sweetest smile and brightest silver eyes.
I walk across the white, half-frozen ground.
As morning wanes, the wind begins to rise.
The breeze relieves my sorrow like a sigh,
And, suddenly, as if by sacred cue -
A flash of red against the cobalt sky.
A cardinal of brilliant crimson hue!
And as the pangs of grief and joy collide,
I feel your spirit walking by my side.
The brittle stems of Queen Anne's Lace
reduced to barren winter bone;
a hoarfrost Ermine coat embrace,
impaled in soil that's turned to stone.
The flowers now are wicker cups,
wear Bowler's hats of purest white;
the snowflakes that they interrupt
await the wind; resume their flight.
The Junco in the Prairie Grass,
drad colors blending, stem and snow;
his flitting business come to pass
without a glimpse of style, or show.
White crystal mist; the morning still,
a cold and colorless display;
the fenceposts marching up the hill
like soldiers, slowly fade away.
This day in its entirety
constructed thus to fit the mood,
cabin bound and winter weary,
must you in my lament intrude?
From deep within the Cedar tree
in blazing red from cap to tail,
you interrupt my woe-is-me,
insure my pensive mood will fail!
leading to our room. . .
fragrant petals you had strewn
cardinal roses
whose hue was that of the sky
when passion first bloomed for us.
Feb. 18, 2022
for 'A BRIAN STRAND TANKA' Poetry Contest
male red cardinal
rules the feed trough by strong force...
nuthatcher eats seed
I was watching the birds at
some food that I had placed
out on a steroform plate..
A Male Red Cardinal would
run all the birds away then
this tiny little Nuthatcher
would fly in and get one
seed..The Cardinal seemed
to keep watch while the
Nuthatcher ate maybe
five or six seeds..
dead red cardinal
swarmed by sugar ant workers....
cat's supper consumed
Cardinal On The Bough
Flashing Crimson In The White
He Takes Flight In Fog
Light snow hushes the drab, winter sky
as she places a small white rose upon
the gravestone of her innocent one
lost in the early bloom of dawn.
A singular chirping song resounds
within drooping arms of frozen trees
she spies a sprightly cardinal bird
flitting like a red ribbon in the breeze.
Her silent tears fall, like white petals spun
her grief is laid bare by the rose’s thorns
when wings of a pure red cardinal come
to carry her rose away towards the sun.
1/7/2023
A rhapsodic delight in a carmine feathered coat,
a cardinal sits amid the verdigris limbs;
with breast puffed out
he croons lovely tones as
vibrations of harmony
to my ears;
Ah, nature is bliss!
Dressed in bright red, standing proud
Feathers flapping bright, magnificently loud
Chirping, composing a love song
Take notice, in a flash he'll be gone
Happily feasting on seed all alone
Brown feathers appear, she's at his throne
welcoming songbird beckons sun
berry bright singer on snowy landscape
tragedy’s summer sting leaves me undone
warm tears still fall on autumn leaves
till winter shrugs its cold shoulder
ushers isolation as my somber heart grieves
return, wee harbinger of spirit connection
your engaging trill evokes smiles
and his voice fills me with recollection
oh, cardinal, turn your songs to love’s ember
convey my gratitude to a love that passed
let your melody gently whisper, “remember”
*February 13, 2019
*Many believe that a red cardinal sighting is a sign that a spirit seeks to connect. Cardinals also symbolize renewal of spirit within ourselves.
a cardinal came
daily in winter's garden....
after daddy's death
May you come to find comfort in and remember:
Cardinals appear when angels are near.
So go now, sit outside and drink your tea.
Keep a look out for the little red bird —
It is there, your loved one will be. Copied from the internet
Quote: Both the enchantress and the siren charmer
are part of the same one.
Fired red wings on the breath of a dawning
he lifts and soars towards life, a breath away
from sunrise, chittering before he takes swing
this cardinal of beauty knows how to sing
she a rose in a luscious garden of pure love
a blush of pink dotted with pistil and grace
a daylight sea of beauty sent from above
daybreak breaks and a flower opens her face
both the cardinal and the rose are essential
to our well being we need their reverence.
He a sign of longevity so reverential,
she a sign of love and courage in her essence
we find the echantress in all of our selves
in his, we find a siren charmer who delves.
like a feathered rose
the male is most colorful
black masked and robust
an angel is near
when a cardinal appears
in your home or yard
Haiku Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Tania Kitchen 1/18/2021
Cardinal and the Rose
As greyness dyes white clouds
When icy fingers rattle wind chimes of icicles
A shiver rustles still meadows of frost bouquets;
Through brittle gales that howl
Like exiled banshees
A tiny golden cardinal seeks
The last yellow rose of summer
That still blooms in shades of sunlight,
In hues of joyful perfume,
To catch her falling petals etched in sunbeams
As the solstice savage delirium casts them
Into the consuming crystal fire of frost;
Before they whither into forgetfulness
This tiny symbol of devotion
Gathers memories of warm afternoons
To line her winter nest with petals of hope
And the fragrance of joy for golden fledglings
As gilded buds return on new stems
To repeat the cardinal’s warbling song.
1-5-22
Contest: Cardinal and the Rose
Sponsor: Craig Cornish