New Classic Poems – Contemporary Verse That Rhymes

New Classic Poems
Love
I should have shown more empathy, he’d been a friend of mine
for many years. I told him not to blame
and then disparaged him. It wasn’t right. I’d crossed the line.
My sanctimony slowly turned to shame.
I chewed regret until the taste was foul. I knew
apologies were due. I went outside
to find my friend. His truck was gone, and so was his canoe.
He’d up and left, and left behind his bride.
It rained relentlessly that night, but even through the rain
I heard the sparrow crying in her tent.
I cried as well, for nothing I could do would stop her pain.
The night poured out its own forlorn lament.
A cold grey mist diffused the night and drizzled into day.
The sparrow brought me coffee laced with rye.
Her eyes were red. She hadn’t slept a bit. We didn’t say
too much, just sat and let the day drift by.
In early afternoon the rain relaxed, and blue appeared
in patches here and there. The camp awoke
and paddlers craned their necks towards the west. A summit reared
above dispersing clouds. The weather broke.
We stood outside and watched a rainbow arc across the sky.
The sun poked through in shafts and slowly peeled
away the curls of steam that swayed across the well-worn fly
above my tent. And then the sparrow squealed.
With every fender rattling, that old truck chewed up the ground.
A pair of brand new kayaks rode the rack.
He must have cleaned out every single flower shop around
‘cause thirty dozen roses filled the back.
The hawk was all contrition when he skidded to a stop.
The sparrow didn’t wait for him to speak.
She flew across the puddles, gave a funny little hop,
and kissed him on his disconcerted beak.
The skies burst blue. The sunlight blazed and danced across the ground.
A laugh was joined and turned a summersault
around the camp. That night, across my sleeping bag, I found
an amber flask of ancient single malt.
The Sparrow and the Hawk was previously published in Karwacki P, Corbett K and Gilchrist PG:
Paddle Tracks. Edmonton, Alberta: Kakwa River Press, 2004.
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