Patio Patois

by Larry Chamberlin   Jul 31, 2015


Darkness echoes cicadas,
tree frogs, bats & cats
melded in languages
known only to each speaker.

Out of place: mockingbird,
his own darkness invaded
by streetlight,
confuses night for day
complains of sleep deprived
in choruses
that would challenge Babel.

[response to Mel's 'sound' challenge]

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Latest Comments

  • 9 years ago

    by Sunshine

    Melded in languages ? this is amazing. Your opening lines were so beautifully worded. I dont really know what challenge that was but you definitely seem like you have penned it perfectly.

    Loved all the mood, settings, and tone.

  • 9 years ago

    by Mr. Darcy

    Hello Larry,

    I like what you have penned here. First stanza a fabulous image of a plethora of sounds. The final one though: it masterfully clever and funny to boot. A Nightingale, a bird out of both time and place. I like the way the headlights do this and then the affect caused silences the others (I like to think) with the jaw dropping melody. I liken it to a rap battle image.

    Well done indeed.

    Michael

    • 9 years ago

      by Larry Chamberlin

      Thank you, Michael. A rap-off is a clever analogy. My father used to say that a Cat Bird could imitate every other bird except a Mockingbird, and a Mockingbird could imitate a Cat Bird. The streetlights in cities and suburbs across the world actually do have a negative impact on song birds.

      "City lights are altering the basic physiology of urban birds, suppressing their estrogen and testosterone and changing their singing, mating, and feeding behaviors."
      <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140904-loss-night-birds-hormone-sing-light-winged-warning/>

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