Herald of the Days

by ginger, for Leo's poetry challenge!

a collection of poems, signaling the days. somewhat.

## One - And so watch the sun

11/30/23 - Triolet, ABaAabAB. Winter and the falling sun

And so watch the sun: it falls,

beneath Winter’s cold, silver gaze.

Faint echoes of fire beyond these stilled halls

and so watch the sun: it falls

and before it, rime and repose calls

to those who travel for far better days.

And so watch the sun: it falls,

beneath Winter’s cold, silver gaze.

## Two - Surrounding seas

12/1/23 - Ekphrasis, a detailed description of a work of art. The woman at the sea

There with her hat and her yellow dress

she watches; quietly standing

as waves crash against the rock.

Ever reaching, they flow

and rise and fall,

farther and farther the blue seems to stretch

and she watches, shadow drifting behind:

until it all meets the horizon, a blinding white flash

where the day, and the storm-clouded world falls still.

## Three - The pond waits

12/2/23 - Rondel, ABba/abAB/abbaA. Songbirds and their pond

And so the pond waits, wonderfully still;

Stagnant and tranquil, waters ever deep.

The sweet birds rest near, the pond now they keep,

How softly they sing, as they always will.

By water, the songbirds bring the day with a trill;

Crying out to the sky until dusk brings them sleep.

And so the pond waits, wonderfully still;

Stagnant and tranquil, waters ever deep.

So soon they take off, the cold sky they fill

To flee Winter, and find warmth to reap.

But the waters they sing by, the birds always keep

As they have and they always will.

And so the pond waits, wonderfully still.

## Four - Starwatcher

12/3/23 - Lento, abab/defe. Cries of a young starwatcher

Bright are the stars that study the earth,

Light is their touch, their soft shine upon sea.

Night passes too quickly, and so soon they fade,

Might they just stay longer, just a moment, I plea!

Away they have gone now, leaving the sky empty,

Pray though I might, they have yet to return.

Day now upon us, I rise, ever-waiting.

May the stars come once more, so their secrets I’ll learn.

## Five - A keeper of secrets

12/7/23- Dizain, ababbccdcd. A soul and his satchel of lies

A clandestine soul sits, lonely and cold

Amid snow above and chaos around.

Secrets he gathers, lies quiet and bold

To take from the land what should not be found

And so he waits, watching without a sound.

A satchel he keeps, a small bag of lies

Far from the king-snakes and their prying eyes

For he knows what secrets he holds inside

Ones made to ruin and bring down the skies-

But he does nothing; he simply resides.

## Six - To reach for the wind

12/7/23 - Palindrome, a poem that can be read both forward and backward. The boy that hopes to be carried on the breeze

What a strange child

He stays, silent in the field

Well past the day’s end

When everyone’s gone to flee the night

He calls out to the breeze

And grasping the leaves that blow past

He cries;

And while he sinks to the ground

The dawn rises once more.

As the cycle goes on

He continues to wait

For the wind to reach back.

Still quiet, hoping,

The child wishes softly and rests.

## Notes

1. ↑ I have this painting hanging in my room it's so cool