bird and bat both claimed the sky,
and each to that element kept--
except one by day and the other by night,
in nest or cave where they slept.
bird had no fur, and so, to keep warm,
began to sing and sings yet--
bat heard her song in his cellar of stone,
but bat couldn't sing, and so, wept.
_______
aw .. sadly lovely
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Blake's poetry in the wisdom of argument and perfection of rhyme.
ReplyDeleteyou possess so much talent. beautiful rhyme.
ReplyDeleteI half-expected a sun/moon tie-in.
ReplyDeleteNice piece!
You know I love this--like a child's cautionary rhyme, or even a spell. Tool me straight to a dream place, haunted, empty except for a song (or perhaps a sob)in the far off distance.
ReplyDeletesigh...'took' not tool...
ReplyDeleteRemember Lunch with Soupy Sales?
ReplyDeleteHis fans were called Bird-Baths.
Remember Soupy's Words of Wisdom?
You can lead a horse to water
But a Pencil must be lead!
Loved your Bird Bat Poem...:P
I truly adore this.
ReplyDeletePoor bat. Very cool write Shay.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad. Quite heartbreaking, really.
ReplyDeleteShe sings because she has to --- to stay alive, to keep functioning. (She probably has eggs to tend to.) So she must appear joyful even if she is not.
And the bat can't force himself to feign happiness, so he expresses his emotions exactly as they are.
It kind of makes you want to blur the lines between night and day so that they can meet at the overlap, at least for a couple of hours. But it isn't possible.
And now I'm thinking of Greek mythology and Persephone, living on earth during the spring (or daytime, in this case) but in the underworld with Hades (the bat) in the winter (or nighttime, as it were).
wow! just wow!
ReplyDelete♥
Shay - I just want to let you know that I've published your poem at the Skeptic's Kaddish here - https://skepticskaddish.com/2021/12/25/infinitesimal-pipe-or-night-song-of-the-breeze/
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing it with me!
Sincerely,
David [ben Alexander]