New Classic Poems – Contemporary Verse That Rhymes

New Classic Poems
Then and Now
The Loon:
Eric Linden
How the Loon got His Spots
Back when the world was still quiet and peaceful,
Tesuniah, the brave one, walked over the land.
His lodge, on the shore of the shining, big water
Was simple and cozy, yet notably grand.
Tesuniah and family would fish and go hunting
And often they’d venture on trips to explore
The deep, scented forests of pines and tall cedars
That grew on the mountains and hills by their door.
The moons came and went and the seasons all followed
From one to another as time passed on by.
One day came great sadness – the wife of Tesuniah
Had joined with the spirits and gone to the sky.
Tesuniah was broken, he grieved and lamented;
He mourned for his wife who had left him alone.
Her last precious gift – white pearls on fine deerskin –
He cherished it dearly, so beautifully sown.
One night when the silence hung over the mountains
And starlight was twinkling, he sat woefully
By the edge of the lakeshore – the dark shimmering water
Resounded the call of the loon, mournfully.
The loon was as black as a night without moonlight.
Tesuniah spoke asking, “What makes you so sad”
They talked through the darkness, each telling his story,
And when the dawn joined them, Tesuniah was glad.
He knew what he needed to do at that moment;
He knew that the pearls were a gift for the loon.
He tossed him the band, but they broke on his feathers
To roll on his back and forever lie strewn.
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