Rhythms: The Political Intrigue of Prague, the Swamp Sparrow & the Bald Eagle!

Source: Abstract Body of Woman by Sasha Lend

by LJ Frank

 We first met by an accident of astrology 

one could say I suppose

my horoscope hinted it would happen

and our arms literally touched 

as if wanting to embrace

at a hotel in Prague years ago  

she was of striking presence, her gesture suggestive

swan like in grace and strength of character

another woman leaned forward uttering her name

Petra 

and seconds became minutes  

as we conversed between words

and within the hour my Sign suggested

Das Hague

and a diplomatic tryst in waiting

though as a cautionary note for the future

Petra whispered in my ear before parting 

as she rephrased the Italian Medievalist, Umberto Eco

“laughter slays fear,

without fear where is faith, 

in the absence of fear where is the Devil 

and if such is the case, 

why is there a need of a God?”

 

so, I boarded a train deep in thought

for a negotiation that was without a resolution

while across the Atlantic

a Swamp Sparrow not wanting to be mistaken 

landed in Central Park

seeking nourishment postponed too long

and whose sweetened sounds in the mornings

I was told were measured with gasps while alone

self-exploring beneath the coverings

she was known to haunt sedge swamps, 

cattail marshes

wet brushy meadows and boreal bogs

though the city’s park would do;

 

the Swamp Sparrow with delightful furring and tufts

partially genetics it’s assumed

displayed colors somewhere in the midst

of desire and a rose

and being clever she took note

of what looked like a Bald Eagle on a tree limb above

nonetheless she would with insight gain

a decision entertained

a communion with that other fowl

though her mind cautioned 

who would serve as the meal? 

 

and through her disguises 

and plumbed up feathers

as to look larger than a life and not unlike

the darker plumage of a hawk 

they would become as one

she thought

until the alternative to truth could no longer be hidden 

for the Bald Eagle was in reality 

a Turkey Vulture

and the Swamp Sparrow decided 

that agnosticism best suited her tastes.