Slow Burn
The canaries in the mine
are singing in January
a swan song for scorched earth
and melting glaciers
The buds have opened their eyes
only to have them poked out
Migrating flocks are flying in circles
while bears in caves are having bad dreams
There is no magic pill
for a beanstalk escape
no way to break a spring fever
that comes in the winter
that lulls and teases us with song
It’s all fake news
sung from Trojan horses
while shooting down messengers
and drowning out truth
with rally cries and soundbite lies
that break skin
In sleeveless shirts with cold shoulders
we say our prayers and cross our fingers
while breaking records into shard pieces
while boiling frogs alive
______Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United /dVerse Poets Pub
January 18th, 2020 12:35 pm
Love this poem
January 18th, 2020 3:00 pm
Thanks, Chelsea. I saw two trees in Roanoke yesterday in full bloom!
January 19th, 2020 8:36 am
A bleak view, with which I sadly agree.
January 19th, 2020 10:35 am
The penultimate stanza could be a history page for future readers. Seriously, it reads like watching TV or surfing around social media.
The image of the frogs is very effective. It gave me chills.
January 19th, 2020 11:10 am
Oh my aching heart this is poignant!
January 19th, 2020 12:08 pm
Your poem is bleak, but so is our world today…
January 19th, 2020 1:48 pm
I’m in awe. Every last line here is brilliant.
January 19th, 2020 2:12 pm
This is really good, Colleen. No magic pill for a beanstalk escape. I love that!
January 19th, 2020 2:54 pm
The outlook is bleak indeed, Colleen.
January 19th, 2020 5:06 pm
You are right on!!!!
January 19th, 2020 7:00 pm
This left me fairly breathless!
January 21st, 2020 5:24 pm
Seasons have lost their way in our abused world. Your poem brilliantly speaks of mixed messages, trying to find normal in abnormal.
January 23rd, 2020 4:31 pm
The overall impression I get from your brilliant poem is one of being shell-shocked. It’s like we are being attacked from all directions. Oh how I cling to faith for benevolent intervention.
January 23rd, 2020 4:39 pm
This is brilliant and speaks so eloquently to the times we live in.
January 23rd, 2020 4:51 pm
The politics of climate and the climate of politics – both are screwed up.
January 23rd, 2020 4:57 pm
Oh, the reference to the frogs… made me think of the old story… but for us, it’s worse, there is nowhere to jump.
January 24th, 2020 11:05 am
Nice description of those “bears in caves are having bad dreams”.
January 24th, 2020 2:12 pm
There is a cherry tree in the office park where my husband worked that always blooms in January. The out look is bleak and only going to get bleaker.
January 24th, 2020 4:56 pm
“no magic pill for a beanstalk escape”…like the language and sarcastic tone in this one!