Laurel's Song Poem by David McLansky

Oh sweetly heard calling songstress
Who nightly wanders in her long dress
Singing sadly 'till the dawn
Who calls as one as all forlorn;

I saw you perched upon a log
In morning mist, the silken fog,
With your breasts all scratched by thorns,
Your dress in ribbons trailed and torn;

Why do you cry so in the dark
Your haunting trill throughout the park
A melody beneath the moon,
So mournful you out do the loon.

You sing as if to discover
The whereabouts of some lost lover
Who lived with you for such long date
That you won’t seek another mate.

You sing as one so long distressed
As if by memories long oppressed,
Calling out to him who’s lost
In the forest tempest tossed.

The wind and rain unloose your hair
Which whips your shoulders cut and bare
There is such terror in your eyes
Without your lover you will not die;

Oh sweet beauty amend thy ways
Love another on this day,
You waste the powers of your lungs
To sing to him who is long gone.

Then sing to me who long has waited
To return your song and sing elated;
And we will blend in such harmony
That the forest will rise in symphony.