Canary
I wasn’t born yellow
or caged
I didn’t fly
or live in a coal mine
I don’t tell other people’s secrets
I don’t sing as much as the males
I haven’t died
but the world takes a toll
I lie down but don’t quit
I have an obstacle to unblock
and a small light to keep lit
I don’t live in the tropics
or sing to the chorus
I’m a pendulum swing
a time keeping weight
holding fate to account
Holding a mirror
to human amnesia
I’m a harbinger of the future
From a high wire
with a long view
I’m a witness bearer
of grace and trauma
I’m a town crier
of a deeper truth
____________Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United
January 12th, 2024 1:47 am
I love the town crier. The lamp lighter also. Either could write a gossip newspaper or letter.
..
January 12th, 2024 2:22 am
All very good things for a poet to be!
January 12th, 2024 3:51 am
Town crier of a deeper truth- love that… in times like these, we need those truth-witness-poets the most.
January 12th, 2024 6:23 pm
Beautiful!
If we could all just be this. Cheers!
January 12th, 2024 6:47 pm
Oh, this took my breath away!!!
January 13th, 2024 9:01 am
“I have a small light to keep lit
and obstacles to unblock”
A small light can do wonders in these dark times.
This is fantastic.
January 13th, 2024 6:37 pm
You’re a beacon in the night you say… good thing to be… 🙂✌🏼😘
January 14th, 2024 12:15 pm
“I haven’t died
but the world takes a toll
I lie down but don’t quit”
That’s a good requirement – don’t quit
January 18th, 2024 4:05 pm
I love the metaphor of the canary… alive and caged, it sings (make me think of Maya Angelou as well)
January 18th, 2024 4:52 pm
As a tribute to the canary, this sings beautifully.
January 18th, 2024 5:57 pm
‘I have a small light to keep lit’.
That just about sums up our reason for carrying on. What else does anyone have?
Such a satisfying poem.
January 18th, 2024 6:48 pm
Canarily wonderful, CR. Thanks
January 18th, 2024 7:59 pm
Beautifully written, it gave me this feeling of suspense while reading through the lines; especially liked the image of the town-crier.
January 18th, 2024 9:28 pm
‘A town crier of a deeper truth’
We need you.
January 19th, 2024 12:41 am
The central conceit works on so many levels. I’m rooting for the canary, hoping it sings, believing the hope in its song.
January 19th, 2024 2:33 am
Colleen, I love your use of metaphor to portray the speaker as a pendulum swing, a timekeeping weight, and a witness bearer…
Sincerely,
David
January 19th, 2024 4:07 am
I love the way you started with colour, Colleen, and the use of negatives to enhance the positives in your poem. The pendulum swing marks the turn so well.
January 20th, 2024 10:00 am
A wonderful metaphorical poem – beautifully phrased…
January 20th, 2024 2:43 pm
Wonderful title and love how you wrote to it.
January 20th, 2024 4:26 pm
Awesome write Colleen
Happy New Year
Much♡love
January 22nd, 2024 12:34 am
“Canary” sings. Literally.