Dipper
By onemorething
- 1710 reads
A dipper bows to the water,
sings to it, to be one with it,
then a bob and dive
into its hunger - little priest,
milk-bibbed, cassocked
for a flight of prayer.
It seems absurd
to have wings for swimming,
but we understand
contradictions;
we are riddled with them.
But I am prone
to drowning, inclined
to descend
too far, and so my songs
are for stars, asterisms
of light that follow
a cold North, to bears,
dippers, dismissed
to the solitude of space,
forgotten
in a constellation of stones.
Sometimes I think that hope
will be the death of me -
in the way life is clutched
in the pearls
of a dipper's eggs:
nestled moons clasped
in moss and oak leaves.
And how I would tend
to these delicate hearts,
already beating
with their river wisdom.
Image is from here: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1854,_Portrait_of_a_Priest_by_Hermenegildo_Bustos.jpg
Also on Twitter: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cinclus_cinclus_1876.jpg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ursa_Major_cph.3g10058.jpg
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ursa_Minor
- Log in to post comments
Comments
Another fine poem as ever
Another fine poem as ever full of imagery, Rachel.
Just one tiny observation, if I may. You start with: 'a dipper', (Singular) then continue with 'little priests' (plural). I get the analogy but, even allowing for poetic license, shouldn't that line read 'like little priests'?
Maybe I am being pedantic, so feel free to ignore me.
Kind regards, Luigi. x
- Log in to post comments
Reading your poems is always
Reading your poems is always such a treat, because not only is there the wonderful poetry itself, but you always give those marvellous extra links, and I end up learning things - I didn't know the word asterism before now! Thanks, as always, for such a lovely post.
- Log in to post comments
Pick of the Day
This sparkling and multi-faceted gem of a poem is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day! Please do share/retweet if you enjoy it too.
- Log in to post comments
Agree with Airy. Coming away
Agree with Airy. Coming away from reading your posts I feel like I am dripping magic
- Log in to post comments
"milk-bibbed, cassocked / for
"milk-bibbed, cassocked / for a flight of prayer." So good.
A very well deserved PoD.
- Log in to post comments
Wonderful- my phone is just
Wonderful- my phone is just notification upon notification about how lovely this poem is - and they're all right!
- Log in to post comments