There's a cardinal couple who visits my backyard once in awhile for the seeds I leave for birds and squirrels.  They're such a charming pair who seems so in love with each other.  I can tell by the way they show little affections for each other, especially the male who is prone to putting seeds he picked into his mate's mouth. What a dandy fella! He has become my heartthrob! It's been years since I first spotted them. And mind you! The lovebirds still visit to grace my tiny garden after so many years. Seasons come, seasons go ..........but not my 'Mr. and Mrs. Cardy' as I call them. Over the years they've become the loyal customers at my 'outdoor cafe'. So one day I wrote and dedicated a poem to the couple who has stolen my heart. It's titled 'In Praise of the Cardinal'. A perfect poem to recite in the autumn afternoon when maple leaves are getting as red as the robe the cardinal is wearing!  Listen to the autumn wind and the rustling leaves while reading it! And picture the red-robed couple alighting your lawn without flapping their wings. Actually you hardly hear a pin drop when they appear out of the blue. What a blessing they're to your local landscape! You don't need grandeurs  like the Niagara Waterfalls or the Grand Cannon  to get the nature experience.  All you need is a quiet focus on things nature offers you for your healing and reverie.  Look! They're all around you! 

In Praise of the Cardinal

Such a rare dig—

Even when the chips fall down,

He likes to drive a hard bargain

For brief naps on my horizon.

Quiet yet unwieldy,

Loving life in his own obstinate ways,

He’s the teacher foremost

Who gives a demanding lesson

With none but his most exclusive posturing.

What a blessing from sky

He’s to your backyard landscape!

With his natural endowments

He can melt the heart

Of any being—mortal or immortal,

Who gets hooked on his charisma.

At the evening’s end,

Under the bouncing orange ball

If a poet wants to plumb the upper ceilings

Of a less-known skyline,

Surely my friend will be there

To show her how to be humble

For the sake of his thrilling vanity.

So I tell my children

To revere his ruby gown.

In it may lie God’s exclusive domain.

For this is one expert

Who knows how to relish beauty

In his dandy uniform!

from 'City Odyssey'

If you liked the poem, 

let's give it a 👍!

Thank you. 🥰

Are you hunkering after a gone love?   That's-- somewhat nostalgic about the broken affair that has given you a little heartache?  Well! Don't we all  love to chew memories like that sometimes? Especially when alone with noting better to do than to chase after your own shadows that seem like a crumpled pink ribbon that is holding an equally crumpled bouquet?!  Then here's the poem for you  that may or may not run like a comforting 🎸sound. Might not it depend on what you draw out of your memory lane?! 

 If You Go Away

If you go away

Without a kiss goodbye,

It’s the sign of lingering doubt

I’ll make you regret for the rest of your life.

If you go away 

Leaving but a basket of stale bread at the door, 

I shall still go out and feed the robins

However drunken they are

In our useless dew of sentiments.

If you go away

Contemplating a comeback 

Just for the sake of repairing a broken cord  

In our rundown affairs, then, hear my recitation now 

Before poetry turns into prose

And prose into drama at each passing moment……...

Still, if you wish to turn that rusty handle 

Of our creaky old house, 

Be careful not to trip over the grim specters 

Of our reconciliation! It’ll be as good as watching

A grilled moon rising from the inside

Of our smoke-filled oven.

After all these ‘gobbles’ you stay to wonder  

Why the heck we hesitate to rekindle our old flames,

O don’t worry, my Sweet!

Heaven never burns out its fuel  

As long as you and I have faith in it, 

Though in the end all we may do is scatter our ashes 

           Over the Valley of No Return

           And start our testaments all over again—

           Each proofreading the other’s chapter………….

                               from 'City Odyssey'

Hope it has somewhat lessoned your heart!

There's always a rainbow shining on your window after each downpour, so keep your chin up and never stop singing 'Come what may! Come what may!' till you become the happiest Annie!   

💖

    We're all 'nature child'.  Young and old alike we're the hallmarks of what nature creates in her numerous cycles of birth and death. In short each one of us is a natural being manifested whether in plant life or animal life. Thus we all have a specific task and role to play as nature's rolling wheel.  Sounds daunting? It can be, that's, if you're not conscious of yourself being part of that cycle. But as a nature-born creature there may come a time when we stop for a moment to think about what's it's like to be a part and parcel of that cycle. I think a lot of animals or plants for that matter contemplate those moments and let those moments be part of their breathing cycle.  Moreover they let their natural rhythms sing songs of love and pay homage to Earth whence they came and whence they shall return as God wills it so.  And one of these sweet, love songs runs like this: