Once in a while my brainpan looks alike
a hackney carriage full of hackneyed clichés
and tired words. In times like this, my psych
advised the psycho to unharness wishes,
to burn the carriage down, to make love
to the imaginary charioteer
and, having smoothly closed the above
gestalt, to go for a walk. Oh, dear,
how silent and empty are the streets!
My head is silent and empty either.
This emptiness miraculously treats
a writer’s block. I feel how formless ether
morphs into words again to give a birth
to the entire world and this small verse.
Raven cries out,
Listen, and listen well.
The darkness holds the answers,
Where the great mystery dwells.
Owl screeches loudly,
Warning, warning beware.
The truth is not obvious,
Seek it out if you dare.
The crow kaws repeatedly,
Look, look in new directions.
Magic is only real,
When you have no hesitations.
The whipporwill whistles,
Answer, answer the rhyme.
A single voice is music,
Your dance the pantomime.
The goose honks in flight,
Work, work together.
There is strength in numbers,
And shelter from the weather.
The whooping crane horns in,
Feel, feel and then release.
When you unharness your emotions,
You open yourself up to inner peace.
The sparrow chirps in song,
Know, know where joy is found.
Be the reason another smiles,
And it will circle back around.
The pheasant coos enticingly,
Ignite, ignite your internal fire.
Having passion for your life,
Makes dreams worthy to aspire.
The hawk shrills forth,
Spirit, spirit in all things.
For the vision, the guidance,
And the wisdom that it brings.
Messengers with medicines,
To learn from and apply.
Sent from the above world,
Creator's great love personified.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.