timmyconway

WHO KILLED THE YOUNG SWAN

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

 

I empty my mind of figures

And fill it with prayers

I walk the avenue

Guarded by the chestnut

with little Christmas trees

Walk over golden leaves

That would outdo Solomon

loop

Nothing but crows

Blackening the light

Squawking terror into the still

Multitudes on the rampage

Dark is everywhere

Nothing is beautiful

But I found a flower in the graveyard

And I saw ducks dance on the water.

 

And there they are

In mourning

Silent

Just floating on the canal

Following the father

At the head of the family

She is gone

Taken out

Murdered

Nobody will say

Somebody knows

The canal has lost its beauty

And for me

A great friend.

There is no moment like this

When my spirit roams

Through falling leaves

Filling me with redemption

The word is passed on

I walk in quiet pastures

By the canal

Where yester days leaves

Have gently turned yellow

A swaying branch deserted

By a fleeing hawk

And I am left in silence

AND THERE THEY ARE

IN MOURNING

SILENT

MOVING IN SADNESS

THE PARENT

DEAD

THEY MOVE IN BEWILDERMENT

WHO KILLED THE PARENT

WE WILL NEVER KNOW

ALL WE KNOW IS THAT HE OR SHE IS GONE

AND THE CANAL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

 

 

I was awakened

By the rasp of the gander

Hissing its ugliness at everyone

The cock crowing in the morning,

Hens revealing their hiding places

And the song of the blackbird

Brings boundless joy to me.

A Heron stands motionless on the bank

Its head sunk into its shoulders

Bent like an old farmer

Ready to pounce

Always ready

Its eyes firmly on the shallow water

Ignoring passers-by

Suddenly

The heron dives into the water

And comes up with a small fish.

I empty my mind of figures

And fill it with prayers

I walk the avenue

Guarded by beech and chestnut

And over golden leaves

I pass

That would outdo Solomon

 

The swans have taken off

Leaving a feather behind

So warm against my face

So soft against my mind

Into their morning circle

A night that darkens without love

Is pain.