¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦ cock-sparrow ¦¦¦ on a green tree,
¦¦¦ he chirruped, ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ so merry ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦
A ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ boy came with his ¦¦¦ bow and arrow,
¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ to shoot this ¦¦¦¦¦¦ cock-sparrow.
"This ¦¦¦¦¦¦ cock-sparrow shall make ¦¦¦ a stew,
And ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦ pie, too."
¦¦¦¦ no," says the sparrow "I won't ¦¦¦¦ ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦¦¦
¦¦¦ he flapped his wings ¦¦¦ ¦¦¦¦ he flew.
(Blackout of Boy And The Sparrow by Mother Goose)
The gigantic acacia tree would testify
Were it not for savage ravages of rot
That erase feeble living things that die
After decades under sun’s missiles hot.
And the birds that chirruped and flew
About as he trudged over hill and bend
Long went like all weak beings of flight,
And no more can lasting credence lend.
If old baobab trunks had tongues that turn
Methinks they would solid testimony avail,
Of how devoutly he toiled in dews and sun
And never refrained from heaven-sent toils.
But since baobab trunks unspeaking are
And birds such fleeting breaths have they,
Can cold unfeeling stones their version say:
Tell how over them hopped he on his way?
Though villainous eyes those labors saw,
Witnessing their tireless winds and turns;
None would ranks of vile ignominy break
And end this betrayal that achingly burns.
And for want of witness this sobbing soul
Perishes and dissolves like a soaking loaf
Amid bootless heavens’ amnesic lethargy,
As cruel decades to a rude century morph.
glittering fireflies
chirruped a passionate verse
as I waited for
beloved with trembling heart
under canopy of stars
A chorus of birds in nearby blossoming trees brightly chirruped,
heralding Easter morning's illumination.
On this day symbolic of redemption,
I swear I heard
the silence of angels’ song.
10/26/2020
For Line Gauthier's Bite Size Poem #32 Poetry Contest
Ordinarily I lie in my bed
mentally grasping for any slender thread of slumber
which I can possibly find to cling to!
But there was one time -
a morning of early April -
when rising from bed, I felt an unusual urge
to don my housecoat and walk out to the deck.
In the stillness of pre-twilight,
I stood there some time just gazing out
at the vast valley and distant lake
of my adopted homeland.
Slowly, a sliver of lemon meringue
began coloring the horizon.
Drawn to dawn, I let myself succumb
to the beauty of it all.
A chorus of birds in nearby blossoming trees brightly chirruped,
heralding Easter morning's illumination.
On this day symbolic of redemption, I swear I heard
the silence of angels’ song.
Jan. 10, 2019
for the 'Free Verse Style Only' Poetry Contest
of Emile Pinet and now for Richard Lamoureux Poem of the Day poetry contest
POTD 1/13/19
Note: I felt happy, of course, to win this award. A few times in the past I had gotten POTD for poems I really did not feel deserved it, so I was pleased that I got the award for a poem I truly had felt good about after I wrote it!
Now that as quickly descends the gloaming on us
It all seems dawn and the noontide is a blink.
Roused from a dreamy night, our faces set as the sun,
Our voices chirruped with the mellow rhythm of the stream.
Ourselves the bloom and hues, all around the lush growths.
We make a furrow the soil, we play, we smile, we hug, we…
So endearing to each other we brought time to a stand still.
Now how sad the fire moon wanes, behind the hill sunk, quickly;
So shall we part ways, ‘less we loss sight through life’s labyrinth.
And as we plod away our own paths, do note the changes:
The withered greens, drought, quietude and eastward wind;
That we shall leave all behind or they in turn shall us leave.
Drunk and brimmed with the lees of love, hard to part it is,
Yet to part with the dying day, longing for the future morn still.
The sparrow fixed me
With a quizzical eye
I am sure it knew
All that I thought
As it hopped with glee
I lifted a finger
The sparrow jumped upon it
It chirruped to me
I understood finally
That a bird
Who gives it's heart
Will sing
Merrily
Every day
That castle sparrow
Came to my window
I let it in
Let it play
I loved it so
The way to a sparrows' heart
Is to sit still
Let it come to you
Of its' own free will
A castle sparrow
Flew around the room
Singing
Lifting my spirits, so low
I thought of nothing else
Than to see a tiny bird
Filled with joyous glow
I brought little treats every day
For a castle sparrow
That I love to watch,
sing and play
It fixed me
with a quizzical eye
As if it knew
All of me
My very own sparrow
I loved it too
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