For beauty, the coyote carried the peacock
across the desert in his teeth.
The sand was a sear on his paws,
but his trot was steady, and his grip was gentle.
Six sleeps, six fires in the sky.
Six star spun lullabies, six wakings.
For beauty, the coyote carried the peacock
across the desert in his teeth.
For beauty, the coyote swam the river
with the peacock slung on his back.
The blood warm current dragged
at his fur. The mud mother
called for his bones. But his paddle
stayed sure and his head held
just high enough above the water.
For beauty, the coyote swam the river
with the peacock slung on his back.
In the desert and river, beauty's as fleeting
as sugar dissolved on the tongue. The river
stained the peacock's feather a dull red.
The desert blemished his eyes
near blind. The coyote looked, but could not find
the beauty that he had carried and that had carried
him so far. The coyote learned that beauty is beauty
is beauty, but is not love.
The peacock learned the hunger of a coyote.
Written for Margaret's April "Beauty" prompt and submitted to Play It Again at Real Toads. Also submitted to Poetry Pantry at Poets United.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
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About Me
- Maude Lynn
- Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. ---Flannery O'Connor
18 comments:
Relationships based one's interpretation of beauty rarely last, and like your poem suggests they often end in pain.
OH! MY! GOODNESS! I so wish I could write a poem this beautiful. This is spectacular!
As Sherry says, spectacular! You have created a new fable, and you have done it in the most splendid, fabulous (!) language.
Wow! That was interesting, with imagination,and a perfect writing.
ZQ
Not exactly a happy ending. But a great tale with a moral.
This is absolutely brilliant. Beautifully written, and carries the reader along, then presents a moral. BRAVO!
Rosemary is right. This is a poetic fable. And the bits of repetition echo the pace/journey of the coyote.
MZ--You are amazing.
I thought it , then I say that Sherry had written it, but i'll repeat all the same
OMG, this is awesome, I wish I had written this
Happy Sunday Mama Zen
much love...
Beauty by another's definition has teeth. Brilliant writing as always!
I agree - an imaginative and wise fable
The coyote looked, but could not find
the beauty that he had carried and that had carried
him so far. The coyote learned that beauty is beauty
is beauty, but is not love.
Sigh.. I dwell in this wisdom of these lines ❤️
really, this is superb. it has the timeless quality of a Grimm's tale - and is as elevated as any parable I've ever read. fantastic. ~
This is awfully good.
Enjoyed reading your tale! No beautify doesn't last, perhaps that is why we cherish it so. The coyote's hunger must be fed.
This is wonderful. Reminds me of Aesop a lot, and made me think about the nature of the scorpion...
Best use of a peacock. Game bird? Dunno. This was a fun read, MZ, with, really, a common sense ending.
..
More than a poem, more than a story, more than a fable. You've written a beautiful, wise parable. Thanks.
Holy cow. Shawna sent me your way, and OH was she right. This is fantastic.
"Six sleeps, six fires in the sky.
Six star spun lullabies, six wakings." = gorgeous.
And those last lines. A parable, a promise. Whew.
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