Tuesday, May 12, 2015

When Cardinals Cry



free-picture.net cardinal-birds













Attraction is in the eye of the beholder
feisty cardinal in his coat of crimson
flutters to and fro through all seasons
 standing on feet of dignity
brilliant red, not stained with
 ego pride..

shock of color, warrants notice
defending his territory, he will
fight even the ghost of himself
rescue missions, fire truck red
who will be lost
  who will be saved
   can anyone determine the cost

blowing in the breeze a new song
picking up the beat, this fellow
has spunk, filled with some funk
along with peeps, pips and warbles
if you listen closely you will hear
his message as it echoes in the land
    cheer, cheer , cheer

nearby the caw of the black crow
crumbling steeple in the distance who
will come, who will go
who will remember all those
lost souls, the day the earth
quaked and swallowed dreams
whole..
   just as a baby bird 
     ate its first worm...

posted for dVerse writing layered poetry
not sure if it fits the prompt, but this is
what the muse had to say...

52 comments:

  1. I like your internal rhyme here. Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The end there made me think of the earthquake in Nepal again today. So much can happen in an instant and change lives forever. Who is to understand why these things happen. And in that same moment, elsewhere, new life is born, celebrated.

    I like the cardinals haircut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that earthquake did come to mind and laughing that cardinal sports quite the cut..

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMay 12, 2015

    I love this part:
    "shock of color, warrants notice
    defending his territory, he will
    fight even the ghost of himself"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I was thinking how birds sometimes try to attack their reflection.

      Delete
  4. Life is fragile so let's cherish the moment while we can.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree..enjoy the day the best you can..

      Delete
  5. who will be lost
    who will be saved
    can anyone determine the cost... that is what hit me immediately... the uncertainty of life - everything can happen and things change so quickly... good if we keep singing - no matter what

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Words that often come to mind when a tragic event occurs in the world. We are all connective in some manner and the chain of events are altered for so many.

      Delete
  6. I really like how the mood changed with the last stanza bringing the image of the cardinal together with the crow.. In that tension you find the shining truth of the poem..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a bit of tension..the cardinal and the crow both powerful symbolically.

      Delete
  7. Yes.. the earth can be a hungry fellow with quakes who know no taste.. for human wills for survival..:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is very true..the bowels of the earth do open from time to time..

      Delete
  8. such a perdy bird... much better looking in crimson than those nasty devils in Vatican :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a perdy bird..I have a pair that live near me and I often see them fluttering about. I wonder if they have a nest nearby?

      Delete
  9. It flowed very well.
    We get a lot of cardinals around here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do catch your eye as the color is stunning..

      Delete
  10. who will be lost
    who will be saved
    can anyone determine the cost...very thought provoking.

    He looks nicer than his human counterparts :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Truedessa, I really like the contrasts in these verses! The cardinal and the crow...and what they could both metaphorically represent and bring to mind. I do hope that those souls who are lost will be remembered. What a tragedy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Life is full of contrast we can only hope the light will get us through.

      Delete
  12. Wow, somehow our poetic minds melded on this prompt, birds & acts of nature, human spunk & spirit, layered in with the mind-numbing hypocrisy
    of organized religion. Two birds we rarely see around here are the blue Jay & red Cardinal. Your last stanza is killer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Glenn,

      That is funny, our muses sure had something to say. Ah, the Blue Jay another favorite of mine.

      Delete
  13. I too like the contrast of cardinal and crow. I like too that the generalization of the two can be flipped.... I see the crow as intelligent and the cardinal as vain. So there are layers within layers for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. that is true you can have different views of these birds. The crow is indeed intelligent.

      Delete
  14. Truedessa,

    Oh definitely the layers reveal themselves here brilliantly. I love poems that change colors and message as we reread them. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the lovely comment..

      Delete
  15. AnonymousMay 13, 2015

    very rich - like the nuanced colors a birder must discern

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vibrant..they have the shock event...

      Delete
  16. The difference between the two can sometimes not be much of one at all. Cardinals can sure think they are the cat's meow though lol

    ReplyDelete
  17. That lovely song of the cardinals hearing it in the silence of high noon is lovely and then....the crow. Contrasts here - those saved, those lost....The last stanza is just amazing. Hayes Spencer is Kanzensakura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, the last stanza even hit me as I wrote the lines..

      Delete
  18. I love this birdly poem - the glorious red of the cardinal and his lovely cry ("cheer, cheer!"), the crow.......and the imponderables, who will stay, who will go......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sherry,

      I guess we will always ponder the mysteries of life and watch for signs to upcoming events.

      Delete
  19. AnonymousMay 14, 2015

    A colourful piece with serious undertones.

    I like this line.... :picking up the beat, this fellow
    has spunk, filled with some funk"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading..perhaps there are few undertones lurking..

      Delete
  20. I wish we had cardinals here as they are so pretty and sound so pretty...we have others but it stands out here as a symbol of so many things...the holidays, love, purity...and you gave us food for thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I too agree the cardinal is symbolic in many ways. I guess it depends on perspective of the viewer. Thanks for visiting.

      Delete
  21. I like the color, sound, and urgency you layered so smoothly. (Took me 3 readings to catch the first line aligned far right!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm - I wonder what view you are using it shows fine on my desktop and mobile device.

      Delete
  22. I love cardinals. What a great description of their spirit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you...they are spirited birds..

      Delete
  23. Cardinals and crows and the wind blows, the hope and aspirations that fly in the winds with the Cardinals and the Crows.

    Thanks for another enlightening prose, you knows :)

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gary,

      So nice to see you here in my garden where the wildflowers bloom and the birds often sing. How are you my friend? May a song always fill your heart.

      Delete
  24. Hi Trudessa - they are wonderful looking birds - so full of pride in their full regalia ... then the earthquake - and there've been two major ones since that huge first one ... so terrible ... the blackened crow - fired by the cardinal ...

    Lovely wording and poetic description ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Hilary,

      I have heard about the other two earthquakes as well. It saddens my heart.

      Delete
  25. Lovely homage to the Cardinal.
    I see many cardinals in the yard now and I love it! They are like poetry themselves, and I think you did a great job capturing that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lauren..I have a couple of cardinals that seem to be hanging out around my place. I think they have a nest nearby.

      Delete
  26. AnonymousMay 15, 2015

    Pretty! I love cardinals. One of these days I'm going to get a good shot of the one that lives behind my apt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have tried to get a shot of the ones near me, but it almost seems like they know what I am doing and will let me get real close then flutter away...it makes me smile as they tease.

      Delete