Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash, used with permission.
Meadowlark Diversion
In the distance, to the right a bit, before the pathway’s crest,
I see a flash of yellow on a feathered breast.
I should not pause and linger here. I really shouldn’t stop.
I’m off to run an errand to the corner shop.
But that tiny glimpse of nature is so weleful to my eye
that I have to put off dinner and take a chance I’ll spy
a meadowlark or oriole if I stray off the path.
I’m willing to go hungry and to face my children’s wrath,
for other things go hungry. Eyes and hearts are meant to fill
as surely as our stomachs, and as I crest the hill,
my choice is vindicated as the lark begins to sing,
finishes its chorus, and swiftly takes to wing.
Prompts today are dinner, corner shop, weleful, distance and yellow. The prompt word “weleful” is obsolete, so you might not find it in the dictionary . It means giving rise to happiness or joy.
Good one
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Nabeela.
LikeLike
A beautiful trek to find more beauty.
LikeLike
A sure sign of spring! Love their yellow vests and black bibs. Certainly worth a detour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love it:
You already know how much I like birds. Right now I have all of my doors and windows open just to hear them in the trees around my house. But then your poem popped up and it was great, only thing missing after seeing the bird, was the beautiful sound the Meadowlark makes… So I added this while reading the poem….. But then something else happened, the birds outside, hearing the sound, began to all answer at one time~! So now my diversion was complete…..See if it will work for you.
https://www.videvo.net/royalty-free-sound-effects/meadowlark/
LikeLike
Lovely.. Thanks, Sam. None of those calls are quite like the South Dakota meadowlarks though. A couple were close. Such a sweet sound..In one poem I admitted it was the only bird call I ever learned to recognize when I was growing up.
LikeLike
I agree, I did not exactly hear the one I was familiar with either, but you should have heard the birds outside answering. Like the mockingbird, they can imitate other calls but still you can tell what it is coming from, when they slip into their repertoire.
LikeLike
Lovely thoughts.
LikeLiked by 1 person