Your tear-wracked family bedside: elderly grandchildren, great-grandchildren arriving straight from med school; not a peep of pain, calm, lucid, last words impeccably drafted?
No. Pecked to death by swans.
Having saved the lives of twelve crippled children (pulled from a burning circus tent), the president calling your hospital room, and you say: Tell him to call back; all the opiate drugs you want?
No. Pecked to death by swans.
Great honors accrued, Don't go telegram from the pope on the side table, serious lobby already in place re a commemorative stamp; a long long life capped by falling, peacefully, asleep?
No. I said: Pecked to death by swans.
By a bullet meant for a lover or a best friend, by a car set to kill someone else whom you pushed, because you could, out of the way; the ululations of a million mourners rising to your window?
No. Pecked to death by swans.
Yesterday, Joel and I went to Ruislip Lido and feed the swans! They were beautiful, but absolutely terrifying, there was a few moments when I didn't think both Joel and I were going to make it out alive, the poem "Pecked to Death by Swans" just kept running through my head.
They were chasing Joel, because he had the bag of bread. Every time he would throw them a piece, the swans would look at the crumbs disdainfully and reach their heads up to snap at the bag!
The lake was absolutely beautiful, and I feel like if we had not gotten hopelessly lost, it was probably was only a short distance from Eastcote. It was also nice that it was so incredibly warm out, T-Shirt weather may actually be on its way!
7 comments:
Wow, I didn't realize that your outing was so eventful! Cool poem. Wherever did you learn it? Mr. Dorman's AP English?
Thanks for fixing the comments page. I was getting frustrated!!
Have fun in Scotland.
Love,
Mum
That was a Mr. Dorman poem, how could you tell? :) Love you much!!
Yay for Thomas Lux and his swans! I read this to my Honors 8 class, and they loved it. I am glad you are finding a group of admirers, even if they are birds.
Mr. D
He, he, he...I love it. You ought to ask Krindee about our adventures with the swans someday. Perhaps they were the very same swans...
P.S. Did you know all the swans are owned by the queen... so DON'T kill one or she will be cheesed off at you!
Cheesed???!!!! You sound so British!!
I looked up "pecked to death by swans" because I remembered it from Mr. Dorman's class. I never expected it to be posted by someone from SWHS.
-James Stewart
Post a Comment