Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Geese




Over and over they flock to the pond,
veering over the tree line to splash down,
one and one and one, until the water
is awash with feathers and wings, 
bills and wild eyes; heads dip below 
the surface, water pearls flash in the sunlight,
sharp cries pierce the blue until
the wildness pulls you in, until whatever you were
eons ago wants to fly, to soar, to cut the air with sharp
wings.






Today's prompt: Try a single sentence poem. These single sentence poems must be readable, make sense, and have deeper meaning that gives them a reason to be. You might strive for those basic requirements Galway Kinnell thinks a poem should have:  creatures of the world, beautiful language, and psychic weight.

11 comments:

Brian Miller said...

one long sentence kinda leaves me a bit breathless...but i think yours def captures some beauty...smiles.

Pauline said...

Brian - in some book years ago I read an entire two pages that were actually one impossibly long sentence. I wish now I'd written down the title and author (perhaps I did and just can't find it) but, though I was breathless at the end, I was also delighted that it was possible to do such a thing!

steven said...

i'm glad to hold my breath through your writing pauline . . . so beautiful and whole! steven

Tabor said...

This does capture that magic arrival of the water birds.

molly said...

Lovely photo, lovely words! There is definitely something in me that "wants to fly, to soar, to cut the air with sharp wings!"
Maybe in my next life I'll be an eagle!

Out on the prairie said...

Very elegant, they always capture my attention .

Hilary said...

It was as real as if they touched down in front of me. Beautiful, Pauline.

Frank Baron said...

I listen for the call of the wild as often as possible these days. Very nice poem. Love the use of "water pearls."

Pauline said...

Ah Steven - thank you!

Tabor-I love to watch them come in, peppering the water and shouting to one another.

Me too, Molly, me too!

Thanks, OOTP

And than you Hilary - that's what I was hoping.

Frank - thanks. Those pearls are every bit as beautiful as real ones.

Kerry said...

I didn't even notice, or much care, that this was a single sentence. It's just really beautiful.

I usually only see geese high above, or perhaps landed in a farmer's field. Not usually in a pond. Thanks!

Pauline said...

Kerry - the pond near my house is quite large and often there are several hundred geese resting and feeding there.