Unanticipated Legion
Once, on a hill where a rubber tree stood
A sea of clumped stars in the darkness brewed
Lanterns and chimes tinkered in the dark of clouds
And dumbfounded was the gloomy vow
Astray, a vagrant meander into the slope
Past the reluctant brambles, rummaging for hope
And into the hill where enthralling mirth flow
And the ebullient air hummed saliently low
He picked up his head, mused upon the castle
That rubber tree personified and he tousled
His hair, an ounce of ardor peeking through the coyness
His hands tracing the lines, ears listening through the dampness
And from the damp a saccharine voice spoke:
"Such black eyes—a mirror with fluent strokes"
And the orbits probed for the prying soul
Winding his knee and rubbing his sole
Reluctantly, he by retorted a trifle:
"Do you see this lion beneath your temple
If so, come down, past your vivid orbs and chimes
And give me reasons to own my time"
"Dear Lion, I am a Duck, thus I cannot go
And leave my enchanted swamp tangled in the boughs"
And the reticent boy lingered with a grin
Prowling and roaring in his body so lean
Soon, before he can reckon the sunset afloat
He had rooted himself in the undergrowth
And made a home in a mirthful trance
Relearning the varying tempo to prance
And when the comport had blended in his blood
The Duck dawned in a plummeting strut
Soused her dowry in the coruscations
And revealed a Swan for her redemption
The hibiscus possessing her seams
Blooms with the orchard of dreams
Her melodious lilt of swansong not
Tethered the boy in a gnarled knot
Such lovely soul galloping mellifluously
Dragging the Lion out of his maladies
For a night or two, lighting her lanterns
And escaping from the haunting taverns.
poem by Norman Santos
Added by Poetry Lover
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