By adewpearl
When whipped cream sweetens pumpkin pie
and nutmeg adds a touch of spice,
When company is dropping by
to chat a while and share a slice,
When cider's mulled and table's set
to form a cozy fall vignette,
surrounded by such plenitude,
I say a prayer of gratitude.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. The first quatrain has an alternating abab rhyme scheme, while the second verse changes this up to rhyming couplets ccdd. |
By adewpearl
The poppy grows in sacred trust,
an homage paid to sacrifice --
a soldier's trek from dust to dust,
from mother's womb to warfare's price.
With time each blood-red petal falls,
but not so battles' endless calls,
and thus fresh buds await their fate --
to grace the graves new wars create.
| Author Notes |
I would like to give special thanks to Moonwillow, whose gorgeous picture of the poppy and its buds inspired this poem.
Since ancient times the poppy has been associated with deep sleep and death in various cultures. During WWI, Canadian physician, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, wrote one of the world's most beloved poems, "In Flanders Fields," the day after he witnessed a young friend die in battle. In doing so, he immortalized the association of poppies with war deaths. He himself later died during the war. Poppies remain an integral part of Armistice Day/Remembrance Day commemorations across the globe. The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin that is written in iambic tetrameter. Its defining characteristic is a shift in rhyming pattern from alternating line rhyming of abab in the first quatrain to couplet rhyming of ccdd in the second verse. |
By adewpearl
With majesty, it ruled the heights,
a wingspan filling half the sky --
I sensed my anchored soul ignite
and lift to where great spirits fly.
Pedestrian are most my days,
prosaic life lived in cliches,
but on this egret's snowy wings
I felt the splendor known by kings.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin, written in iambic tetrameter. Its defining characteristic is a shift in rhyme scheme from alternating abab rhyme in the first quatrain to ccdd couplets in the second. |
By adewpearl
By purpose called, I set my course,
held steady to appointed ports,
for duty is a driving force --
I acquiesce as it exhorts.
But now I hear an inner voice
beseeching quite a different choice.
To open seas it beckons me,
a ship set loose and sailing free.
| Author Notes |
A rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin that is written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is abab ccdd.
This change of rhyme from alternate-line rhyming to couplets is its defining characteristic. |
By adewpearl
I've navigated seven seas
upon a six-sailed clipper ship,
held steady course through squalls with ease,
gave buccaneering bands the slip.
No anchor's ever held me moored
or kept me from a land explored.
Imagination as my mate,
new destinations I await.
By adewpearl
Gray days creep in, unwelcome guests,
who give no hint when they might leave.
Lay claim our souls as their address,
spread ashen shrouds that we might grieve.
Some hosts stay trapped in this abyss,
believing guests can't be dismissed.
No slave to such propriety,
I won't share my society.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origins. It is written in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ababccdd.
This results in a first verse with alternate line rhyming and a second verse with a change in rhyme to couplets. |
By adewpearl
I tried to gather up the shore,
to capture seascapes pail by pail,
but sands released from ocean floor
become but pebbles placed in jail.
When washed by waves, each flowing free,
white sands are part of surf and sea;
but stolen from their rightful sphere,
lackluster is my souvenir.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin, written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme of abab ccdd shifts from alternating rhyming lines in the first quatrain to couplets in the second quatrain. |
By adewpearl
A ladybug crawled up a stem
to eat two aphids on a leaf.
A jay who also fancied them
let out a squawk, "You dirty thief!"
Just as he squawked, a hawk passed by
to hear his bellyaching cry.
No more complaints of those who steal
came from the jay, the hawk's next meal.
| Author Notes |
A rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. Its lines are written in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of abab ccdd.
The characteristic sign of the rispetto is the change in rhyme from alternating lines in verse one to couplets in verse two. |
By adewpearl
When lightning wields its fiery whip
till thunder cracks the frenzied skies,
When branches from strong oaks are stripped
and songbirds' airs become shrill cries,
When placid seas that soothed the soul
turn furious as whitecaps roll,
When desolation's dark clouds swarm,
faith strengthens me to face the storm.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. It is written in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of abab ccdd.
This means that alternate lines of the first verse rhyme, while the rhyme scheme changes to couplets in the second quatrain. |
By adewpearl
I'd pluck the sparkle from the sky
if sprays of stars would win your heart.
Whole constellations I'd supply
if only this your love would spark.
I'd challenge Hydra for its stars,
fight Scorpius, then fly to Mars
if I could win your radiant love
with shining gifts plucked from above.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CCDD. This means the first quatrain has alternate line rhyming while the second verse switches to rhyming couplets.
Hydra - a constellation resembling a twisting snake from Greek mythology. Scorpius - a constellation named for the poisonous scorpion that killed Orion. |
By adewpearl
Though once I was a rugged rock,
I'm now a stone smoothed by the sea.
Though once I was a fastened lock,
I've stopped resisting every key.
I used to go to any length
to show I stood with stalwart strength,
but now on bended knees I kneel,
no need to prove I'm made of steel.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin, written in iambic tetrameter. Its defining trait is that while the first quatrain is written with alternating rhyme, abab, the second quatrain switches to rhyming couplets, ccdd. |
By adewpearl
Death multiplies till we become
benumbed to numbers felled by war,
our ears attuned to funeral drums
till we can't hear them any more.
A million million tears were shed,
a million million prayers were pled,
till life climbed out from this abyss,
proclaiming peace with one sweet kiss.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem that originated in Italy. It is written in iambic tetrameter. Its defining characteristic is that the first verse has alternate line rhyming abab while the second verse is written in couplets ccdd.
Victory over Japan was declared on August 14, 1945, ending WWII. Close to a million people gathered in Times Square, New York City, to celebrate. Today, 65 years later, a 25 foot statue has been erected in Times Square that recreates one of the world's most iconic photographs taken that day by Life Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. This is, of course, the photo of a jubilant sailor who spontaneously grabbed a nurse in the crowd to plant a celebratory kiss on her lips. Today, August 14, 2010, hundreds of couples are expected at Times Square to recreate this single kiss of unbridled joy and peace. Estimates of the number of people killed in WWII range widely - but even the most conservative numbers I found are well over 50 million. |
By adewpearl
One petal of a peony
does not this flower's beauty prove.
Though shade won't fade when fallen free
the essence of the bloom's removed.
The splendor of its swirled design
takes place when petals all combine
to multiply their potent power,
to generate a single flower.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem written in iambic tetrameter.
The rhyme scheme is abab ccdd, so that the first quatrain rhymes in alternating lines while the second quatrain rhymes in couplets. |
By adewpearl
When winter pays his yearly call,
I hunker down to wait him out.
Like bears who find a place to crawl,
my only goal, to dodge his clout.
But summer with her golden sun
is not a guest I'd ever shun.
Her overtures I don't evade
but welcome with pink lemonade.
| Author Notes | It's the first day of summer - who can be serious??? LOL |
By adewpearl
Please don't disturb; my thoughts are deep --
my meditation's not a nap.
I keep my counsel; talk is cheap --
I will not fall into that trap.
While people prattle, prate and chat,
my vow of silence as a cat
just proves they're foolish as I'm wise,
as I, so still, philosophize.
| Author Notes |
For all you cat lovers out there who enjoyed yesterday's poem about the cat and the fairy, I would ask you raise your prayers and your positive thoughts and energy into the universe for Pudge, my little girl's cat, who is having major health issues. She loves Pudge beyond words, and I love her beyond words, so it is difficult to know how worried she is right now.
Keep one's counsel means to be discreet, circumspect, private concerning one's own thoughts Prattle and prate both mean foolish chatter |
By adewpearl
Some think my cat stalks dust mite prey
and scoff when he stares toward the sky.
"How cute he bats the air," they say.
"He's not too bright," their tones imply.
It's clear they lack the gift to see
what's plain as day to him and me.
A fairy's flitting 'round his nose
and sprinkling dust where sunlight glows.
| Author Notes | special thanks to Photogooroo, whose art inspired this bit of whimsy, dedicated to my fairy-loving, cat-loving daughter, Miranda. :-) |
By adewpearl
Simplicity is splendor's name
when gold and gems are stripped away.
She wears instead upon her frame
a garb of garden's bright bouquet.
Simplicity goes not to balls
nor makes a place in palace halls.
Yet from her smile the world receives
in double measure, all it needs.
By adewpearl
Shout hallelujah for the rain
that makes each cob of sweet corn grow.
Congratulate each golden grain
sun raises up where farmers sow.
In vibrant voice sing songs of praise
for fields that yield tall stalks of maize.
Then reap the crop the rain increased
and fold your hands before the feast.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin, with each line written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is abab ccdd.
Fold your hands refers to folding one's hands in prayer. I'm anticipating the local crop of Jersey corn, which is among the best foods known to humankind - in another couple of weeks roadside stands and stores will be filled to the brim with God's golden gift :-) |
By adewpearl
Oh, pretty flow'r without a name,
whose petals sport pale shades of pink,
your colors not a burst of flame,
not one to shout, but more to wink.
You've not a poppy's crimson cloak
O'Keeffe would capture with bold stroke,
but still I find myself disarmed,
a captive of your quiet charm.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. The lines are composed in iambic tetrameter and the rhyme scheme is abab ccdd, so that in the first verse the rhyme is in alternating lines while in the second verse the rhymes are in couplets.
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887-1986, was an American artist whose flower paintings are famous and beloved. She chose as her subjects flowers that are particularly sensual and spectacular, flowers that popped from the canvas, like the poppy. When I found this lovely picture of wildflowers by Grumsby on Fan Art, I was struck by the beauty of these unassuming little wildflowers. I searched Google for a long time, trying to match them to a name, but I couldn't find any pictures that looked enough like them. And so, my ode to these quiet little flowers, with no name, no spectacular color or shape. |
By adewpearl
I've heard a vibrant world's alive
beneath the surface of the sea,
where violet and gold fish thrive,
concealed in shrouded secrecy.
I'm not sure why they don't reveal
their dazzling forms in peach and teal.
Perhaps they don't trust humankind
to keep their interests in mind.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is a poem consisting of two quatrains, each written in iambic tetrameter (8 syllables that begin with an unaccented syllable and then alternate, unstressed/stressed).
Alternating lines rhyme in the first verse, and then the second consists of rhyming couplets, so the rhyme scheme is ABAB CCDD. I am using a 3 syllable pronunciation of violet and interest. |
By adewpearl
From out the turquoise surf they fly,
a transitory trip to space,
a fleeting sojourn in the sky
before return to sea's embrace.
Set loose, they soar from ocean's grip,
yet from those heights they swiftly flip
to dip into the sea and then
repeat their freedom's dance again.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin. Each line is written in iambic tetrameter, and the rhyme scheme of the two quatrains is abab ccdd. The defining characteristic is that shift from alternate line rhyming in the first verse to rhyming couplets in the second.
My daughter took me to Malibu so I could enjoy the ocean. As we stood on the shore, my son called, and just as I was talking to him, two dolphins, amazingly near the shore, leaped from the sea. That is as good as life gets. |
By adewpearl
"We're here," they sing, in gilded notes,
tall stalks of wheat, bright marigold,
small sunshine-breasted yellowthroats,
the leaves of autumn, bronzed and bold.
"We're here!" their declarations cry,
and yet we blithely pass them by,
a golden treasure left to waste
as we are deafened in our haste.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin, written in iambic tetratmeter. The first quatrain has a rhyme scheme of abab, and the second verse changes up the rhyme scheme to couplets of ccdd. |
By adewpearl
The secrets of the world are found
in mighty oak and minute seed,
in springs that bubble from the ground
to oceans where their waters lead.
The beauty of Creation lies
in ladybugs and spacious skies.
Look up to see it in Orion,
or stoop to pick one dandelion.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin, written in iambic tetrameter. The first quatrain has a rhyme scheme of abab and the second switches the rhyming pattern to couplets of ccdd. In my poem, the final two lines are 9 syllables each but do not break the meter. |
By adewpearl
The golden sun so far away
sheds light that spreads ten thousand miles,
and light that bright can't help but spray
the planet with a billion smiles.
A patch of posies can't compete
with grandeur of this gold orb's feat,
yet when I find a daisied field,
a smile is what these flowers yield.
| Author Notes |
A rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. The first quatrain has a rhyme scheme of abab, while the second verse changes up the rhyme scheme to couplets of ccdd.
No actual scientific research was conducted to come up with the math in this poem :-) |
By adewpearl
Serenity is sometimes found
among the soft, the smooth and still,
like popcorn clouds of fluffy down
or moss that coats a rolling hill.
But when the world is closing in
and turmoil's churning deep within,
sometimes the greatest peace is known
inside the steely strength of stone.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an eight line poem written in two quatrains.
The rhyme scheme of the first verse is abab, but then it changes up to ccdd in the second verse. The meter is iambic. |
By adewpearl
Before they came with torch and sword
to charge our Lord with blasphemy,
Before He stood before the horde
as they demanded death's decree,
He took His followers aside
to bid them, "By My words abide --
through lives of love bring hate's defeat" --
then with such love, He washed their feet.
| Author Notes |
Today is Maundy, or Holy, Thursday. Most scholars agree that Maundy is derived from Jesus' words to his Apostles at the last supper, as recorded in the Gospel of John 13:34. "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos." A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you. He said this as he stooped to wash each of their feet, the ultimate act of love and humility.
Illustration note: The butterfly has long been a symbol of the resurrection. |
By adewpearl
As twilight readies skies for night,
providing backdrop fit for stars,
as fireflies fuel up their light
and children search for jelly jars,
it's then the jasmine choose to bloom,
to fill the air with their perfume,
when owls and nighthawks spread their wings
and my heart with the cricket sings.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin with a rhyme scheme of ababccdd. The lines are written in iambic tetrameter.
I am using the preferred two syllable pronunciation of fuel. |
By adewpearl
I asked the river why such rush
to feed the waters of the sea,
why feel a need to rage and gush
on route to reach your destiny?
The river felt no need to pause,
to offer me some mulled "because,"
but rather gathered up more force
as it continued on its course.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an 8 line poem of Italian origin. Each line is written in iambic tetrameter. The first quatrain has a rhyme scheme of abab while the second shifts rhyming pattern to ccdd.
"mulled" means pondered over, considered in this context |
By adewpearl
Who breathes the air when crisp and clear
but fails to feel some gratitude
for life upon our blessed sphere,
a place of pure beatitude?
'Tis he who chokes on fetid smog
as forests fall and highways clog
and shrugs his shoulders as if dumb
when asking what our world's become.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an eight line poem of Italian origin written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme of the first quatrain is abab. The rhyme scheme in the second quatrain switches to ccdd.
beatitude = a state of supreme blessedness or happiness |
By adewpearl
The day I die love's blush will bloom,
a babe will breathe his first full breath,
a lark will trill his mating tune,
and so the world will mark my death.
When I was born, a funeral bell
in solemn sound rang out its knell
for someone I would never meet,
so now this round will be complete.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is an Italian form consisting of two quatrains in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is abab ccdd.
My mother died when I had just turned eight. Five days later my oldest sister gave birth to my first niece, and five days after that my other sister gave birth to my first nephew. I thus learned at a tender age that life and death play a dance as the cycle goes on and on. My world stopped for a moment when I lost my mother, but then it just kept on turning. |
By adewpearl
With drums to set the cadence they parade
in uniforms fresh pressed past cheering throngs.
To snappy tunes of Sousa marches played,
they step in time to patriotic songs.
Their buttons gleam and boots with polish shine
as they process as if by grand design.
In regimental splendor they march by
toward battlefields of blood to fall and die.
| Author Notes |
The rispetto is a centuries old Italian form written in two quatrains. In a regular rispetto the lines are 8 syllables long in iambic tetrameter. In the heroic rispetto, like this poem, the lines are ten syllables long in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CCDD.
"process" in this poem means to march as in a processional and has the accent on the second syllable "toward" is one syllable John Philips Sousa, the March King, was an American composer known mainly for his patriotic and military music. |
By adewpearl
Were I a songstress notes would flow
that spoke my love forever true;
were I a seamstress I would sew
the softest quilt to cover you.
But I've not voice nor golden thread
to charm your ear nor warm your bed.
I simply promise I'll enfold
your heart in mine against the cold.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is a poem in two quatrains of iambic meter. The rhyme scheme for the first verse is abab and the rhyme scheme for the second changes to couplets of ccdd. |
By adewpearl
Should daisies bloom along the path
you stroll upon, please pause awhile
to listen for a baby's laugh
among those blooms that make you smile.
Each spirit of a babe whose death
occurred before it drew life's breath
lives in a daisy placed on Earth
by God, who claimed that child at birth.
| Author Notes |
In Canada and the United States, September 6 has been designated Stillbirth Remembrance day since 2001. In the United States alone, 26,000 babies are stillborn each year, one in about 160 births. Parents who anticipated the birth of a healthy child for many months are left with an empty crib to go home to.
Celtic legend has it that when God saw the parents of these innocent children mourning their loss, he sprinkled daisies over the Earth to offer them cheer. Each daisy, a symbol of innocence, springs from the spirit of a child who died at birth. To any of my readers who have ever suffered this terrible loss, I dedicate this poem. |
By adewpearl
When stardust fell upon the earth,
as scattered there by Virgo's hand,
the star-shaped aster had its birth,
and since has beautified our land.
While hyacinth and daffodil
our springtime meadows overspill,
in fields of fall the asters bloom
to fill the air with sweet perfume.
| Author Notes |
the rispetto is a poem composed of two quatrains. The rhyme scheme of the first is ABAB while the rhyme scheme of the second changes pattern to CCDD.
The aster is the birth flower of September, and Virgo is the astrological sign for most of September. One of many legends about the origin of the aster is that it first bloomed when Virgo scattered stardust onto the earth. Asters bloom from late August through October. |
By adewpearl
One hundred years ago this night
the summer stars upon you smiled
and filled you with their lambent light,
your parents' joy, their newborn child.
Those selfsame stars that lit your sky
still greet each newborn babe as I
seek sparkling gems in heavens clear
to wish, like them, you still were here.
| Author Notes | One year ago today I posted my first poem on Fanstory, Summer Skies. One hundred years ago today, my mother was born. She died a few months before she lived to see half those hundred years, and for the past fifty years I have missed her each and every day. I wanted to commemorate her birthday and the first anniversary of my joining this community, and so I used the summer skies theme to write this new poem, dedicated to her. |
By adewpearl
A sultry Mississippi night
can swelter almost hot as day
as chiggers and mosquitoes bite
midst oleanders' sweet bouquet.
Did oleander blossoms bloom,
a floral wreath for young boy's tomb
when Tallahatchie, hushed and still,
became the grave of Emmett Till?
| Author Notes |
In August of 1955, a fourteen year old African American boy named Emmett Till visited relatives in Mississippi. While visiting a store with friends, he whistled at or in some way flirted with a 21 year old married white woman - whether it was a whistle, or whether, as she claimed, he touched her while asking for a date, that is the worst anyone ever claimed he did. When her husband found out about the incident, he and at least one other man took Emmett out of the house where he was staying, beat him brutally, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, then tied his body to a fan from a cotton gin with barbed wire and dumped him in the Tallahatchee River. The killer, found not guilty, later bragged of his crime in an interview.
The oleander plant is beautiful but highly poisonous. |
By adewpearl
Eighty-eight keys in silence sit,
no rondos nor concertos play --
harmonic chords they can't emit
without musician to obey.
Eighty-eight keys but not one note
can from their ivory keyboard float
unless a human touch excite
their music in melodic flight.
| Author Notes | a rispetto is a poem in two quatrains. The first verse has a rhyme scheme of ABAB and the second a rhyme scheme of CCDD. |
By adewpearl
Oh, lovely little ladybug,
in listless crawl across a leaf,
you could take wing to expedite
your journey in this life so brief.
And yet you linger where you've lit
though you have wings that flight permit.
We folks who bid you fly away
need learn to savor life's bouquet.
| Author Notes |
Who has not heard and recited the nursery rhyme where we chasten the lady bug to fly away home for her house is on fire, her children all gone? This is just my little reflection on why she is in no hurry while we are so anxious for her to get a move on.
I broke with the rhyme scheme of the rispetto in the first and third lines of the first verse, so, as always, call the darned poem whatever you wish. LOL |
By adewpearl
If things do fall apart, my friend,
if center truly will not hold,
what can we keep from bitter end,
what values owned that can't be sold?
If the best lack all conviction,
cowardice our joint affliction,
have we the will to take a stand?
If not, what could befall our land?
| Author Notes |
William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865. He is not only an Irish poet - he is considered one of the most influential poets of the 20th Century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.
His political, social, mystical beliefs are most complex and often contradictory and are discussed in many a scholarly article and book - this is not a poem that endorses or refutes or even claims to understand those beliefs as they evolved and manifested themselves in peculiar ways. It is simply a reflection on some of the issues he raises in his most famous poem, "The Second Coming," which he wrote right after WWI. "Things fall apart: the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world... The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity." I have not adhered to iambic meter in the second verse of this poem, so please, if necessary, feel free to consider this something other than a rispetto. Anyone wondering why the falcon for an illustration, google The Second Coming by Yeats. You really ought to read this magnificent poem if you are not already familiar with it! |
By adewpearl
Skunk cabbage lined the shallow creek
as poison ivy lay in wait.
Mosquitoes swarmed in humid heat
to bite at us, their human bait.
Yet every opportunity
we lied with brash impunity,
so worried mothers wouldn't want
to keep us from our tadpole hunt.
| Author Notes |
The Mill Road Creek was only two blocks from our safe neighborhood back in the 50's, when the dozen or so kids from our street spent every summer day outdoors together. Sometimes we grew weary of bike riding and tag and hopscotch and conspired to go on more adventurous outings in forbidden territory.
The creek was just that - not a picturesque stream, not a poetic brook, no little waterfalls - it was only three or four steps wide and several inches deep and could be crossed by walking carefully over slippery stepping stones. Skunk cabbage and poison ivy were far more plentiful than buttercups and wild berries - no artist would set up an easel to paint here. But there were tadpoles to find and minnows - believe me, the allure was there. And so we promised not to go and then uncrossed our little fingers and went anyway! Of course, most of the time we returned muddy and broke out in poison ivy that necessitated our moms' purchases of Calomine lotion by the gallon, but once we had been chastised, we returned again in another week or so. |
By adewpearl
I caught a firefly in my fist
that flickered like a distant star --
then so to keep it in our midst,
I trapped it in a jelly jar.
As minutes passed, despite plans made,
I watched my magic light show fade.
Too young was I to understand
God's stars don't light at my command.
By adewpearl
Nobody knows how many died
upon the shores that ran with red,
their bodies washed out with the tide
that could not cleanse the blood they shed.
But while some names from Normandy
won't find a place in history,
their sacrifice won't be forgot
by those whose freedom their blood bought.
| Author Notes |
On this 65th anniversary of D Day, various historians and organizations charged with compiling the list of fatalities still have not arrived at a definitive number of Allied deaths. The number is most likely around 4500 according to the National D Day Memorial Foundation that spent years confirming all the names they could, but everyone agrees there are some soldiers whose names we'll never know. Men's bodies were disintegrated by bombs while others washed out into the ocean in the chaos of that terrible day.
Company clerks could not keep track or were themselves killed. The numbers are staggering but could have been much worse had it not been for the planning that went into staging this landing - the eve of the assault, Churchill voiced his fear that 20,000 might die. The one thing everyone agrees on is that this landing of 160,000 Allied troops was the beginning of the end of a war that had dragged on far too long. Each soldier, whether he made the ultimate sacrifice or went on to help liberate France and the rest of Europe, was an invaluable part in saving the lives and freedom of millions. |
By adewpearl
The death of innocence is traced,
for most, not to one single date --
instead, naivete's erased
by many twists and turns of fate.
But I can name the day and time
when all my stars went out of line.
Idealism's light went dark
when Sirhan's bullet found its mark.
| Author Notes |
On June 5, Robert Kennedy, having just won the California Democratic primary, was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. He died the next day. I was 17 years old, and I revered Bobby. I was awoken for school the next morning by my father's shouts, asking me if I were still against the death penalty. When I learned why he was yelling this at me, my light went dark. To this day I have never felt about another politician or world leader exactly what I felt for Robert Kennedy. My youth ended that day.
Bobby died of his mortal wounds on June 6, two years to the day after he delivered a speech at Capetown, South Africa that is now immortalized on a wall of the John F. Kennedy museum. This is the quote I keep next to my heart when I think of Bobby and all that might have been had he lived. It is a quote I live by as best I can. "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." |
By adewpearl
Two hundred times a bee's wings beat --
one fleeting second passes by.
Yet what ovation greets this feat
as laws of physics it defies?
We see the bee in fluttered flight,
then step around in nervous fright
that it might wound us with its stings --
and notice not the beating wings.
| Author Notes | The rispetto is an old Tuscsan form of poetry that consists of two quatrains written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme of the first verse is abab and the rhyme of the second is ccdd. I wrote my first rispetto yesterday, inspired in part by Luna, who has composed them delightfully in the past. She teased me yesterday that my rispetto would probably start a run on rispettos, and who am I to disappoint a friend. So, Jenny, thus begins the run on rispettos. LOL :-) |
By adewpearl
As light and shade play on the grass,
in patterns woven by the sun,
clouds cast a pall as they roll past
till sun's design has come undone.
But just as patterns disappear,
again sun makes a new premier --
beams break through clouds just passing by
to light again the grass and sky.
| Author Notes |
I have admired the rispetto form for a while but have not tried it up to now. It is a lovely but simple form that consists of two quatrains - each written in iambic tetrameter. The first has a rhyme scheme of abab and the second a rhyme scheme of ccdd.
I was just looking out my window at the grass and there was a lovely weave of light and dark patches in the strong sunlight, and then clouds passed over and it all went dull. Just a minute later, out came the sun again. Metaphoric interpretations are invited. :-) |
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