'White as Diamonds'

Cherry

By Silver Spun Sand

Sat, 21 Mar 2015
  • 3142 reads
10 comments
 
I've known mornings, white
as diamonds, silent
from a night so cold
such a stillness
calm as the owl glides...
Alela Diana Menig
 
At first light I go outside
to feed the ducks; mallards
they come here every year
to breed...instead, find only
a clutch of tiny feathers...
downy, white as diamonds;
another one or two at the foot
of the willow...others, strayed –
scattered amongst serried ranks
of trenchant meadow grass.
 
The door of a makeshift barn gapes,
open-mouthed – a silent accusation.
Meant to fix it, weeks ago – ready
for the season. Silently, I fill
dishes with corn in the hope some
survived; say sorry to an empty pond,
and wipe my eyes. Twixt finger
and thumb – a single feather
hitches a ride from the wind...
a last chance, to know what it is
to fly.
Certificate PG
Poem
Silver Spun Sand Poems
Nature
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Bee on

This is really sad, but delicately beautiful. 

Bee

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Appreciated, Bee...no end.

Tina

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Somehow seemed like 'the autobiography of a feather' - getting in its flight, though on its own, not on the duck/duckling. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

'The autobiography of a feather', says it all, Rhiannon, and so much more.

Tina

 

Submitted by tibi popovici on

silence..., peace..., all feathers should have the chance to fly by will, even better if they are part of human wings smiley

Amazing, Tina! wink

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Thanks, tibi...you've just about said it all, and perfectlysmiley

Tina

 

Submitted by prettyrose on

smileyAs usual always beautifully expressed even when said, and so glad you recieved cherries for this well deserved wink hehe.

I could be wrong here, but is this to do with the American female singer,?

Take Care

Trish xx

smiley Keep Smiling

Keep Writing xxx

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Hi there, Trish. Pleased you enjoyed.  And I am pleased you are familiar with Alela Diana Menig - the American singer who wrote and recorded the song, 'White as Diamonds', from which the extract at the beginning of the poem comes from. I think she is from Oregon, but I might be wrong.

Many thanks.

Tina

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Oh Tina, I felt so much saddness at reading this piece. Those poor creatures that you got so much pleasure from, now gone.

A loving, tender poem that brings to mind the savageness of nature, that is inevitable.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

Thanks for reading this, Jenny, and it was heartrending for me.  But nature moves in mysterious ways sometimes, and I have a new pair who are staking their claim to my pond, almost as I speak, so I shall have to be extra vigilant, over the coming few months, and hope that nature smiles on them this time around.

Tina