|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SHORT PRECARIOUS HOUR, by FLORENCE DICKINSON STEARNS
First Line: A bird of red consented to remain
Last Line: It was as though the silence breathed a name.
Subject(s): Birds
First Line: A bird of red consented to remain
Last Line: It was as though the silence breathed a name.
Subject(s): Birds
A bird of red consented to remain,
A slim guest artist, in my maple tree
Where, glowing as a lantern in the rain,
He balanced on a grey twig perilously.
Over the piebald sod beneath the branch
The thick fog lifted from the thinning snow.
I marvelled that a creature had so staunch
An optimism, facing such a foe
As life. This bird, alone, devoid of power,
Persisting through survival of the strong,
This wing riding the short precarious hour
That brings disaster or tomorrow's song,
Had kept his bright appointment with the tree,
His gay itinerary etched in flame.
It was as though a spirit spoke to me;
It was as though the silence breathed a Name.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
GLIMPSES OF THE BIRDS by JOHN HOLLANDER
GLIMPSES OF THE BIRDS by JOHN HOLLANDER
AUDUBON EXAMINES A BITTERN by ANDREW HUDGINS
DISPATCHES FROM DEVEREUX SLOUGH by MARK JARMAN
A COUNTRY LIFE by RANDALL JARRELL
CANADIAN WARBLER by GALWAY KINNELL
YELLOW BIRD by KENNETH SLADE ALLING
THE CRIPPLE by KARLE WILSON BAKER