It's cooler out tonight. The breeze is gone.
The central air conditioners are still,
And I can hear the crickets going on,
Intoning their alliterative trill,
Engendered of their need to hurry now.
In time they may become a metaphor,
A little like their greener cousin -- how
He sang away the season -- at the door
Of neighborly curmudgeon tiny ant,
He begged for bits of leaf, or maybe cheese,
But only heard in answer, "no, I can't."
And watched the door swing shut, still mouthing "please."
And then, as though he'd live the winter long,
He plaintively began another song.
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Alysa Salzberg
Melissa Miles McCarter
Scarlett Sumac
jlsathre
Matt Paust
Jowita Bydlowska
Salon.com
Comments
To dance and sing delights and elevates.
But drudging work in ennui and misery
Supposedly should make a person free.
Grasshoppers trill and leap in sunshine's light
Exulting joy in melody and flight.
For life is short no matter what we do
And dull work provides not any clue
To justify our time for why we're here.
No matter how we live, we disappear.
You and Jan Sand...whew! Belleza pura.
ladyslipper, I'm glad they came through. Last night there were only four or five of them in evidence. But that made them even prettier to listen to.
Jan, your comment reminds me of Fiddler Jones, of Spoon River Anthology. I heard it first when I was thirteen, and time stood still. Thank you for your poem. -- Oh, and you're in Helsinki, right? It was in a village in Finland, some years ago, that I noticed that I could hear everything around me late at night (jet lag), because there were no central air conditioners going, anywhere. What an unusual sensation, to be in a neighborhood, and not a sound, just my own footsteps.
Linnnn, you're some hours south of me. My cicadas seem to have all gone (or they have fallen prey to those horrid cicada-killer wasps... ick).
anna1, I'm afraid it I mentioned it I would jinx it. Shh... (thank you)
Renatta, I've thought of lots and lots of things. Do they still make books? (Sorry, just kidding. It is a lofty thought, and I appreciate your asking.)
c&v, I do like superlatives. Thank you for the left one, and thank you for the right one.
catch-22, me alegre. I am very happy that you come by.
Thank you all so much. Running tomorrow. Off to bed.
'night.