The bone bird
Born from an egg as tender and sweet as honey by moonlight,
Flies through an ash sky
Into an Autumn as smoky and crisp as the remembered dream of a last kiss.
The bone bird
Is known by her song of glass, and the Queen-of-the-Nights it holds;
Flowers like feathers
Beautiful only as an ache is beautiful, or a parting.
The bone bird
Has made her nest above my door;
She will not fly
When Winter comes like Lady Death.
Instead, we will be two crones
Sipping tea in the twilight,
And when she sighs and has no more songs,
I will let the fire die
And tell her of your smile.
_____________________________
(Thank you to the gorgeously talented Christene, who introduced me to the black tulips called Queen-of-the-Nights.)
It's as lovely as
ReplyDeleteWhen You are Old
by W. B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars
It is nice I like the ending!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm weeping, your Bone Bird poem is sorrow dipped in a sublime,
ReplyDeletejoy carefully hidden in plain sight, the most special part is
two, sipping tea in the twilight.
Nichole, I love Yeats, and that's the perfect companion piece. Leave it to my brilliant sister to come up with that.
ReplyDelete((((((((Nikki)))))))))
Thanks, Arts & P., I always appreciate you reading and commenting!
ReplyDeleteYou're so special, Cynthia...and your comments are extremely special to me. Thank you. :-)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm - i am loving this, and agree:
ReplyDelete... two crones
Sipping tea in the twilight
Is exquisite
Kx
*serves up some China Black for K*
ReplyDelete(((((((K)))))))))
This is such a perfect poem for this season. And for November, too. Are you sending your work in for publishing?
ReplyDeleteI love this time of year, Susanna, and it seems to inspire me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew more about submitting work. Someone was kind enough to send me a helpful link, however, and I am going to check it out! ;-)
This is beautiful ~
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tracey-Ann. There's another one you might like, called "Crow In Love" that's listed in my favorites.
ReplyDelete