The Black Swan
by Randall Jarrell
When the swans turned my sister into a swan
I would go to the lake, at night, from milking:
The sun would look out through the reeds like a swan,
A swan's red beak; and the beak would open
And inside there was darkness, the stars and the moon.
Out on the lake, a girl would laugh.
"Sister, here is your porridge, sister,"
I would call; and the reeds would whisper,
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, little swan."
My legs were all hard and webbed, and the silky
Hairs of my wings sank away like stars
In the ripples that ran in and out of the reeds:
I heard through the lap and hiss of water
Someone's "Sister . . . sister," far away on the shore,
And then as I opened my beak to answer
I heard my harsh laugh go out to the shore
And saw - saw at last, swimming up from the green
Low mounds of the lake, the white stone swans:
The white, named swans . . . "It is all a dream,"
I whispered, and reached from the down of the pallet
To the lap and hiss of the floor.
And "Sleep, little sister," the swan all sang
From the moon and stars and frogs of the floor.
But the swan my sister called, "Sleep at last, little sister,"
And stroked all night, with a black wing, my wings.
However the background and poem inspires...
Click to read the poem if you are having trouble hiding the background.
The background's creator, Vladstudio, is watermarked in the margin.
Enjoy...
by Randall Jarrell
When the swans turned my sister into a swan
I would go to the lake, at night, from milking:
The sun would look out through the reeds like a swan,
A swan's red beak; and the beak would open
And inside there was darkness, the stars and the moon.
Out on the lake, a girl would laugh.
"Sister, here is your porridge, sister,"
I would call; and the reeds would whisper,
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, little swan."
My legs were all hard and webbed, and the silky
Hairs of my wings sank away like stars
In the ripples that ran in and out of the reeds:
I heard through the lap and hiss of water
Someone's "Sister . . . sister," far away on the shore,
And then as I opened my beak to answer
I heard my harsh laugh go out to the shore
And saw - saw at last, swimming up from the green
Low mounds of the lake, the white stone swans:
The white, named swans . . . "It is all a dream,"
I whispered, and reached from the down of the pallet
To the lap and hiss of the floor.
And "Sleep, little sister," the swan all sang
From the moon and stars and frogs of the floor.
But the swan my sister called, "Sleep at last, little sister,"
And stroked all night, with a black wing, my wings.
However the background and poem inspires...
Click to read the poem if you are having trouble hiding the background.
The background's creator, Vladstudio, is watermarked in the margin.
Enjoy...
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on June 17
- Rewards: Gold: 400, Silver: 200, Bronze: 100
- Final notes: Thank you all sincerely for your wonderful attention to this poem by Randall Jarrell and this beautiful Vladstudio background ~ you did the prompts proud and I hope no one is too disappointed about not winning a trophy.
Have a wonderful day and looking forward to reading your work again... perhaps you can find inspiration in some slant rhyme and a sprinkling of Francais in my latest offering, if you have a chance: http://allpoetry.com/contest/2449951
Contest Winners
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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The moon paints on the parchment
of waters homage to the sky• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
I reached out my hand and they came to me
when I sprinkled the bread before them• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Entries [13]
1 - 13 of 13
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• Commented on by judge.
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The black swan nests
n the purple of twilight,by Judith Chandler 16 lines, 3 comments, on Jun 4 3:27 PM. In Contest• Commented on by judge. -
The moon shone over black waters
and inside the moon, the cygnet incubated.by ea 24 lines, 3 comments, on Jun 5 4:37 PM• Viewed by judge. -
Black wing, black wing, we stroke in search of sleep--
the sleep that does not come to us though dark• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge.
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Farewell, the sun is disappearing over that horizon line
and so, I fear, must I. The sea beckons like a lover• Commented on by judge. -
Wreathed Sonnet~
• Commented on by judge. -
The heavens opened - rain began to bucket down from sunny sun to heavy rain,
The pond became awash with new water• Commented on by judge. -
Come to the river and spy upon luminescent waters bright
Three swans black as night• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 14 of 14
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This is gorgeous. I will surely try to get back with something for this!
Lynda
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OK, I'm having a hard time getting the font to show up but I guess people can highlight it.
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yeah sure we can. That is a beautiful bg but with the different colors, hard to know what color font to choose but you chose the best one...
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well, now I've added a link to the poem so people can go directly to it if that's easier.
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You have made me a fan of these backgrounds!
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yes, they're really gorgeous, aren't they?
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If you are having background problems on any ap page (any I've tried may be some where it won't work) add ?notheme=1 to the end of the url and the background should revert to blue
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Thanks, that does work and there's the hide background in the upper right,too, which actually shows up pretty well - white on black.
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Switching to the link works well and this background is so beautiful. Two experiences in one, not to mention Jarrell's amazing poem.
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Are black swans not coming from Wales? interesting contest...
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I think they are bigger in Australia.
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Wow, thanks for the silver, its very much appreciated.
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What a beautiful contest, hooray for the winners!
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<3
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1 - 14 of 14
