Cicada by Roberto Zingales

Cicala - balm-cricket
Originally uploaded by CyboRoZ

Inspired by Miss Rumphius and Wallace Stevens (of course)

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Cicada in August

I
Within the forest oaks
the only sound is the drum
of the male cicadas.
II
I was of one mind
like the patient oak
that waits the cicadas' climb.
III
The cicada flew into the glass.
It buzzed on its side
like a broken pinwheel
in the wind.
IV
It's one with the marvelous heroes:
The cicada climbs the nearest support,
splits open its shell
and emerges.
V
I do not know which amazes more:
The slow underground life of the young,
or the sight of nymphal skins in August's trees.
VI
The fans blew the hot air
across the room.
Pages curled on the desk.
Far off they were climbing.
Their small sound organ
thunderous.

VII
You admirers of feathered wings,
Do you not see
the long translucent beatings
of this tiny bright eyed thing?
VIII
I know scales and arpeggios,
the tyranny of the bow,
but the cicada
knows the essence
of what I hope to know.
IX
When the cicada
moved on
the oak tree slept.
X
As the cicadas sing
together, throwing their rhythm
into the darkness,
even the bomba dancer
cannot command the beat.
XI
She sped her sports car over highways
her wrists clicking with bracelets.
At night she dreams
all her charms and rings
are cicadas with emeralds
for wings.
XII
The leaves are turning.
The old cicadas must be dying.
XIII
It was hot and humid all day and evening.
The clouds came.
The cicadas clung
to their branches.

Leonardo da Vinci Park ~
Originally uploaded by alicepopkorn - busy
I will bring an umbrella. One should never forget their umbrella.
Photo by Alicepopkorn-busy a Flickr.com


LEONARDO DA VINCI PARK (for Isabella)

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
an apple for my teacher, and an anteater because picnics always have ants and I am bringing butter biscuits
in case there aren't any ants.


Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
crunchy cashews, and a chirpy chimpanzee,
some delicious dumplings, dazzling diamonds
Elegant eggplants and even eclairs for
the fairies found in the flowers.


Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
galloping gazelles, high stepping horses,
and individually wrapped icecreams
just in time for jumping with my friends
Jane, Jasmin, and Junette.
.


Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
from Australia a Kangaroo who gets a kick out of kielbasa
and one lively lioness
who loves lunaria, and many marvelous monkeys
full of mischief and munchies made with marshmellows.

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
nine noisy nuthatches in a nest. Nothing more.

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park
and I am bringing olives, oysters, oatmeal cookies,
and an opened box of paint for painting
portraits quick and quaint
of a really rude red rooster who slips and slides
over a seesaw to steal my saltine crackers and soggy sandwiches
that truly taste terrible.

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
an umbrella from Umbria, and an ugly duckling under my arm for all of us
to admire (because the ugly duckling is really a beautiful swan.)

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
a painting signed "Vincent" of a vase with welcoming sunflowers.

Today I am going to Leonardo Da Vinci Park and I am bringing
friends: Xavier, YOU, Zak, Zoe, and Zelda.

I love the park, don't you?

I can't resist. Here's a firefly joke:

What happened to the dog that swallowed a firefly?

It barked with de-light!

Firefly Poem (revision) Photo Creative Commons
Originally uploaded by V31S70

Mami said let's ride in the car;
I wore my pajamas and she drove very far...

We went through a forest, thick with dark trees.
I slept the whole way with my head on my knees.

Then she stopped, got out, at the top of a hill
Where we spread out a blanket and sat very still.

Diamonds were falling, a dazzling delight;
Bright-eyed were we by firefly light.

Happy Sheep
Originally uploaded by David Masters

The Fisheep (a fantasy mammal/fish)

Unlike a true fish
the fisheep doesn't swim very deep
rather, it swishes along and floats
like something made of cotton but a boat.

Stay tuned for poems about these hybrids --

The Frogrilla
jagrabbit
eeligator
coquibus
bearcoon
and the infamous fisheep

Fishes
Originally uploaded by katmere

What is Creative Commons? You will often see photographs posted on this blog by other people. I write the posts but borrow these photographs. These photographers have chosen to use a different type of copyright --not the ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I find these sharing/caring people's photos in a flickr search for "Creative Commons." You can share their photos as long as you give their identity as the creator. It's very cool. That you everyone in the Creative Commons pool. Love swimming with you!

common toad waiting for food
Originally uploaded by bjortklingd

(As you can see, this is a "common toad," a distant relative of the Toadonkey whose ears are, of course, much bigger.)

Toadonkeys

Very rare and hard to spot.
The largest of farm toads,
more toad than not.
Their spring song is more a bray
familiar like a mare
but not quite a neigh
nay, I say its hard to say
exactly as they are so seldom seen or heard.
They're fast with their legs up front;
they kick behind in a huge gallump.
A miniature seesaw,
they sometimes sing heehaw, heehaw!

summer is dancing
Originally uploaded by alicepopkorn

I Love Summer Time

I like to feel the sun shine
I like to dip my feet in water cold
I like to skip between the chalk lines
until my days grow old

I like it if the birds still sing
When my dreams take wing,
when it's light,
And the fireflies light up the night

I love summer time
flavored ices bought with dimes
knees scraped and banged up blue
all my wild days long overdue

Not Another Bee Poem, Oh no!!!!!


Outside my window was a bee
a fuzzy, humming bumble bee
going about its bee-business busily
buzzing, obviously with glee;
as far a I could see,
it was happy being busy in a daffodil flower
when I spied it in that early morning hour.

Pip the Cat
Originally uploaded by garagesoap

is rather flip.
He skit-skats
across the mats.
Wanting so to be outdoors,
he runs across the floors.
Pip isn't one to nip or nap.
He's a purrfect chap.
Furry, always in a hurry, very purry.

Spring crocus, creative commons.
Originally uploaded by Futurilla

P recious crocus
O pening wide in
E xile from its warm bed
T asting the cool air
R eaching up its head

Y awning, open to the sky

The Leaving (inspired by Leonard Cohen)

We packed a box, cleared a table.
Threw out old magazines, or what we were able.
It's time to go, it's time to move now.

We rolled up our rugs, emptied our drawers.
We wrapped dishes in paper, and swept up the floors.
It's time to go, it's time to move now.

Outside we raked leaves from the beds,
taking care not to break daffodil heads.
It's time to go, it's time to move now.

In the bird bath we poured the last cool water
and filled the feeders with finch seed for after.
It's time to go, it's time to move now.

P erched

O n the fence

E ach sparrow is a

T ease for the cat in the window

R eady to pouce; if only he were in the

Y ard.

sparrow
Originally uploaded by *János*

Robin Redbreast

Robin Redbreast
Originally uploaded by John Spooner

creative commons license

P erhaps you thought poetry was made

O f words. But it is

E ven made of the robins, stones, oceans, and

T all oak and birch trees.

R eally.

Y ou only need to look and listen.

COMPOST ACROSTIC

P eels from apples, cucumbers, left-

O ver leaves , grasses,

E gg shells, and coffee grounds decompose

T oday so that

R eturns of

Y esterday will fill tomorrow.