Compline

“’Lullaby of Birdland’ whisper low”

(With thanks to Sir George Shearing and George David Weiss)

Why do birds sing at night?

Morning chorales and evening reprises trill avé and valé to the sun;
but now the chorus starts just past dusk in the dimness of first dark.

There must be a reason they sing contentedly after fall of night.

They do not greet the moon as she has not yet risen
or the stars as they flicker faintly from aeons lost.

Is it a lullaby they chirp before putting their tiny heads beneath their wings, mayhap they chant their evening prayers,
or do they cheerfully rehearse their sunrise song?

Ronda R. Scott-Marak

© 25 April 2016

A Solitary Woman

(with thanks to Neil Diamond)

Always alone, though rarely ever lonely;
Never giving in, while always giving out.

My strength is formed ‘round a core of staunch denial;
determined to provide where I am needed,
resolutely finish what I start.

The path is often one-way only, with a roadblock at its end

but the goal shifts ever further;
green fields and a nap always ‘round the second next bend.

Ronda R. Scott-Marak
17 May 2016