The Osprey on the easterlies
side long slipping on high songs
near the edge of the sea,
his weariness agrees
with the waiting tide pool
the ebb and flow of currents
he cannot control.
she lays her cheek upon his back
the feathers flutter in the roar of wind
and she whispers in his ear,
“Merlin, cast a spell for me,
that shields me from the fear”...
seeing the sky for the first time
while the world sleeps
weeping at the sinking moon,
“Merlin”...
always falling to earth with a scream.
Tears on a white pillow
chatting sparrows argue
with a squirrel,
the drip of water
undetermined
in the slow return.
Author notes
Lute
In a list
A contest entry
- ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING!!!!! I SWEAR! by Cherokee.
300 points, ended September 23, 2007, 30 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 25 of 25
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Magical...
I love how [she] calls for Merlin to work his magic to assuage her fear(s). Her efforts futile on her own and her weariness is threaded all the way through to the end. This poem has reminded me of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It has some similar imagery. I think it's awesome. Ithica -
II love how you have Merlin the Wizard in this.
Great Write.
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this is beautiful Lut
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This is a very sweet poem. I like the cheeks to her back part. Feeling like theres a love interwoven also got me more caught into the poem too.
Glad you won honorable winner. Great job! -
congratulations on the Honorable Mention. It is a sort of magical read woven into a great visual. I am glad I decided to click. It was the title that intrigued me and I was not disappointed,
reenie
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wow
that was so ...COOL!^^
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Very creative.
This is done in a creative way and also is unique. You turn a phrase very well. I can see the two of them next to the sea in the night as if I were there. With your words you paint the picture of her weeping and her fear so very vividly that I can feel her distress. This is so well written and so melodramatic that I found it all amazing.
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This is very nicely woven, well worthy of the HM. Nicely done, and thank you for sharing this wonderful work with this... this is something that will linger with me for some time.
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this is beautiful Lute
The feathers flutter reminds me of a swan, though can't say why.
Smile,
Judy
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This is like a beautiful tapestry - each thread being critical to the weave. The further back one stands to read it the richer the images become.
Very well done Mr. Lute.
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Wow... Very deep and thoughtful and emotional. I loved it. Great work.
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Enjoyable to read
Mystical in tone. Love and nature are important. -
It took me years to know that I created my own fears. It took me even more years to understand why. Your poem pierces the heart to even know that magic and spells can induce thought to such depth. I have had my days of venture into the unknown and came out knowing more than I bargained for.
Your words are magically written. The visuals are stunning. They float in and out of this cleverly written, surreal dream state. I am always thoroughly pleased when I walk away from your pages. Thank you!
Congratulations on receiving honorable mention.
Much Love & Respect ♥
Renee
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I like this, too. Melancholy to think of laying a cheek against a sorceror's feathered cape. Saw an osprey and a nest when I was home. Maybe chittering sparrows. Well worth the mention.
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Your poems read like dreams.
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we all have our own little wizzard inside
i adore dis!
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Ah, Lute
whether Merlin is connected to the Holy Grail, or the Lady of the Lake ... please beware of her with the name of M.
She will bewitch the wizard, and the tears on the pillow may flood the world ...
Sad to return from the dream, he listens to the feathered departure ... and remembers the soft lips against his back, and the breathing warmth of sighs against his neck ...
Turning around, he finds that she never departed.
Erhm. Forgive me for being mischievous. Your poem is so beautiful.
Love
Myra
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a spell cast of protection and knowledge... such a span of words and love ...
how those tears can be counted, collected on myths and the legend of a man/bird to the woman/feather
reminds me of when Oberon talks to Puck about his love for Titania, as he spies on her hawk-like from the edge of the forrest, he sees his love sleeping..
the slow return.... so beautiful and quiet
yes
took me a few reads to make my words come to this one
good luck in the contest Mistah
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I'm still looking for something to shield me from fear. Perhaps I need to find Merlin, he could probably cook up a spell or two to help. Loved the 2nd stanza...well actually the whole poem is great but the closeness of the 2nd stanza spoke to me.
Excellent...
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On eof the first poems to imprint itself on my soul was 'Hawk Roosting'. I was about 12. We had to study and analyse meaning, technique -take it all apart with tweezers. The more I did that, the more I saw how wonderful the hawk could be, but also how wonderful poetry could be. I took the hawk as a metaphor for poetry. Whenever I see a hawk, a falcon ( I have a few friends who practise falconry medieval style at shows) and of course the Red Kites just reintroduced at Harewoood just down the road following their near extinction- the sight of the Red Kites gliding, soaring , gliding- well that is the definition of poetry and of course poetry is the definition of lifemotion. Since then I suppose subconsciously every poem I read is put alongside Hughes's one- I haven't actually thought about that in years, but this poem made me realise that is how it is.
I think 'merlin' has the double meaning here of the hawk, osprey- the bird of prey at any rate, and the magician of Arthurian legend. I think that the merlin was a ladies' hawk (not sure- but I think they were not allowed to fly otehr falcons, only merlins, but I may have it wrong- however it fits the poem to think that is so).
Also, I have to say that this poem connected on another theme.
“Merlin”...
always falling to earth with a scream.
The Merlin of course was the engine fitted to Spitfires, Lancasters and Hurricanes. One of the last vintage WW2 Hurricane aircraft crashed at a display this weekend killing the pilot. One had an idea of how it must have been during the Battle of Britain which we were commemorating here on 15th September - the poem fits that too.
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This is a very poetic poem. If that makes sense. I love how each word seems to bring new meaning, and how it tells a story so simply. Good work.
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Wow, this stirs something in me, deep in my soul. It's beautiful and yet so sad.
A dream for something better?
I love this! Keep it up! -
The other night, I could have used one of Merlin's spells. I dreamed Native Americans (can't say Indians not PC) were chasing me all night long. It was scary and I was sure tired. I don't know why they were chasing me it might have been to scalp me or maybe I upset the Great Spirit.
You ever worry about people stealing things from you? Just curious.
Rare these days for Lute to post a Love poem. And therefore it is special in its rarity alone.
I agree with Yvette that the tenderness of her cheek to his back is quite a yummy detail. Merlin always dreamy dreamy in the cats paw I think then Plunk he comes back to Earth where it isn't alway so good but at least he has his Lover. That seems good.
I used to tell Bohb, when he wrote anything that remotely sung of lurve that I could see the light shining out of a chink in his armor.
All girls want to be princesses don't they? And Poets they can do that with their poems can't they?
I just heard Bruce Springsteen's new CD is titled "Magic"
Good luck in the contest.
Lisa
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A smooth,lyrical rhythm, good usage of assonance and alliteration.Imagery with clarity and emotion with the yen of yearning.A pleasure to read, the tenderness within the character with her cheek to his back was warm and wonderful.
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I espeacially love the last two lines. You composed this with effort and details. Very clear to see and deep.
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