We were entwined in red rings
Of blood and loneliness before
The first snows fell
Before muddy rivers seeded clouds
Above a virgin forest, and
Men ran naked, blue and black
Skinned into the warm embraces
Of Sheba, Eve and Lilith.
I was your sister.
You left me to force strangers
Into brother molds, exacting
Taxations they never
Owed or could ever pay.
You fought to die, thinking
In destruction lies the seed
Of birth. You may be right.
I will remember silent walks in
Southern woods and long talks
In low voices
Shielding meaning from the big ears
Of overcurious adults.
You may be right.
Your slow return from
Regions of terror and bloody
Screams, races my heart.
I hear again the laughter
Of children and see fireflies
Bursting tiny explosions in
An Arkansas twilight.
Of blood and loneliness before
The first snows fell
Before muddy rivers seeded clouds
Above a virgin forest, and
Men ran naked, blue and black
Skinned into the warm embraces
Of Sheba, Eve and Lilith.
I was your sister.
You left me to force strangers
Into brother molds, exacting
Taxations they never
Owed or could ever pay.
You fought to die, thinking
In destruction lies the seed
Of birth. You may be right.
I will remember silent walks in
Southern woods and long talks
In low voices
Shielding meaning from the big ears
Of overcurious adults.
You may be right.
Your slow return from
Regions of terror and bloody
Screams, races my heart.
I hear again the laughter
Of children and see fireflies
Bursting tiny explosions in
An Arkansas twilight.
~ Maya Angelou
Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still a-fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them;
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they’d left their tails behind them.
It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.
She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling,
And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,
To tack each again to its lambkin.
And can’t tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.
Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still a-fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them;
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they’d left their tails behind them.
It happened one day, as Bo-peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.
She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye,
And over the hillocks went rambling,
And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,
To tack each again to its lambkin.
~ Nursery Rhyme written in 1810
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| Alphabe Thursdays |
Fun post for L ~ love poetry ~
ReplyDeleteartmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)
Great choice for K....had not heard all the verses of Bo Peep! Rather grim (Grimm?)♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/looking-up/
ReplyDeleteWow. That Mia Angelou K poem packs a powerful punch. And I love Mother Goose nursery rhymes!
ReplyDelete=)
Perfect for L.
ReplyDeletethe second one's fun
ReplyDeleteBo-Peep was one of my favorite nursery rhymes when I was a child. Mia Angelou is a powerful writer. Be sure to read her book, "Why the Caged Bird Sings." It's truly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant for L post. My little one loves little bo-peep :)
ReplyDeletewhat an excellent K post. I never knew that there were more verses to Little Bo Peep. Maybe my mother got tired of reading! Hahahaha!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post! Loved it! haha
ReplyDeleteMaya Angelou can sure paint scenes with her words.
ReplyDeleteLittle Bo Peep IS rather grim. I wonder if this one (like some others) has political undertones.
My heavens!
ReplyDeleteWhat intense writing!
I adored this.
And isn't it crazy how morbid nursery rhymes are?
Thanks for linking to the letter L.
I enjoyed visiting you very much!
A+