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| 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...
not sure if it fits the prompt, but this is
what the muse had to say...
I like your internal rhyme here. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThank you...
DeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteI like the cardinals haircut.
Yes, that earthquake did come to mind and laughing that cardinal sports quite the cut..
DeleteI love this part:
ReplyDelete"shock of color, warrants notice
defending his territory, he will
fight even the ghost of himself"
Thanks, I was thinking how birds sometimes try to attack their reflection.
DeleteLife is fragile so let's cherish the moment while we can.
ReplyDeleteI agree..enjoy the day the best you can..
Deletewho will be lost
ReplyDeletewho 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
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.
DeleteI 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..
ReplyDeleteThere is a bit of tension..the cardinal and the crow both powerful symbolically.
DeleteYes.. the earth can be a hungry fellow with quakes who know no taste.. for human wills for survival..:)
ReplyDeleteThat is very true..the bowels of the earth do open from time to time..
Deletesuch a perdy bird... much better looking in crimson than those nasty devils in Vatican :)
ReplyDeleteIt 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?
DeleteIt flowed very well.
ReplyDeleteWe get a lot of cardinals around here.
They do catch your eye as the color is stunning..
Deletewho will be lost
ReplyDeletewho will be saved
can anyone determine the cost...very thought provoking.
He looks nicer than his human counterparts :)
They really are quite the bird..
DeleteTruedessa, 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.
ReplyDeleteLife is full of contrast we can only hope the light will get us through.
DeleteWow, somehow our poetic minds melded on this prompt, birds & acts of nature, human spunk & spirit, layered in with the mind-numbing hypocrisy
ReplyDeleteof organized religion. Two birds we rarely see around here are the blue Jay & red Cardinal. Your last stanza is killer.
Hi Glenn,
DeleteThat is funny, our muses sure had something to say. Ah, the Blue Jay another favorite of mine.
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.
ReplyDeletethat is true you can have different views of these birds. The crow is indeed intelligent.
DeleteTruedessa,
ReplyDeleteOh definitely the layers reveal themselves here brilliantly. I love poems that change colors and message as we reread them. Thank you.
Thank you for the lovely comment..
Deletevery rich - like the nuanced colors a birder must discern
ReplyDeleteVibrant..they have the shock event...
DeleteThe 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
ReplyDeleteThat they can sometimes...
DeleteThat 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
ReplyDeleteThank you, the last stanza even hit me as I wrote the lines..
DeleteI 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......
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry,
DeleteI guess we will always ponder the mysteries of life and watch for signs to upcoming events.
A colourful piece with serious undertones.
ReplyDeleteI like this line.... :picking up the beat, this fellow
has spunk, filled with some funk"
Thanks for reading..perhaps there are few undertones lurking..
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI too agree the cardinal is symbolic in many ways. I guess it depends on perspective of the viewer. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteI like the color, sound, and urgency you layered so smoothly. (Took me 3 readings to catch the first line aligned far right!)
ReplyDeleteHmm - I wonder what view you are using it shows fine on my desktop and mobile device.
DeleteI love cardinals. What a great description of their spirit.
ReplyDeletethank you...they are spirited birds..
DeleteCardinals and crows and the wind blows, the hope and aspirations that fly in the winds with the Cardinals and the Crows.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another enlightening prose, you knows :)
Gary
Gary,
DeleteSo 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.
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 ...
ReplyDeleteLovely wording and poetic description ... cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary,
DeleteI have heard about the other two earthquakes as well. It saddens my heart.
Lovely homage to the Cardinal.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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.
DeletePretty! I love cardinals. One of these days I'm going to get a good shot of the one that lives behind my apt.
ReplyDeleteI 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