The City's Got No Chirping Crickets

Tough to sleep with unaccustomed sounds!

 

The City's Got No Chirping Crickets

 

City folk

misplaced in the woods

missing the cacophony

 

garbage trucks

sirens

flashing neon

car alarms

 

city fauna creep

with stealthy steps

pigeons, rats, mice, roaches

or scurry inside walls

 

never a copperhead

cottonmouth

rarely a spider

with flesh-eating germs

in their venom

 

bears and deer

moose and wolves

keep off urban streets

 

city floods are a burst main

a clogged sewer drain

no rivers past their banks

 

the nights without lights

garnished

with chirping crickets

cicada drones

bull and tree frogs

singing for their mates

 

lying sleepless

a million stars above

the sounds of unfamiliar

crawling into consciousness

eyes open

searching for dawn

Reviews

[Angela Talbert]

Misplaced in the woods-the title sounds like it could be a metaphore- I don't see that in this poem though you could easily give it two meanings. (I could be missing something).
"the nights without lights
garnished
with chirping crickets
cicada drones"
I love these lines, beautiful wording and very descriptive. The music is a nice touch also. Great!

[THE BLACK SEAL]

this is very unusual and it leaves with plenty of room for thought....

[J. Hampton]

David

Breathtaking ...quite enchanting
an experience I hate to break away from.....impeccably crafted.

Ironic isn't it that every major city has a zoo or wildlife sanctuary or avery...or garden in it.
I moved from the city to the suburbs ....and couldn't sleep save the quiet.

This got me thinking how crazy it is that we...(people)...clear entire forests...destroy landfill...and build our homes...cities etc...then plant all manner of trees ,greenery and grass back around them.
We devise ways to pump our vile sewer....toxic waste watr into our beautiful clean streams lakes...and seas ,full of clean water...then give out the nobel prize to whoevr discovered a way to "create" ...clean-water ?...lol

Eyes..OPEN

Good write !

Blesssssssssss

[Shannon K.]

Lovely lovely, and so true too. I know because my dad lives out on a farm and my mom in a town, and the difference between the 2 is unreal. Personally, i prefer the country and wilderness because there is so much inspirationand time just goes on forever, where as in the town, time never seems to stop, just goes full speed ahead. I love how in your poem you focused on mainly the wildlife between the two locations.
Great job!!
S.k.

[Otto L.n. Pipgras]

There is a simplicity in the words which conveys so much into the message and the idea behind the piece...nothing like being out in the wilderness ( oras even a simple countryside might seem like wilderness to some city slickers) I've heard an abundance of cicada song this year...reading this one makes me think of their molted husks found clinging to tree bark and bushes among other places. nice piece...serene. enjoyed.

[C. Harter Amos]

Such a beautiful soundtrack to go along with your comparison of city and country. You sound as if you adapt equally well to either but with a bit of nerves when dealing with th e out-of-doors. "Lying sleepless,
a million stars above, the sounds of unfamiliar crawling into consciousness, eyes open searching for dawn", Good description of the endless hours of unease before dawn in an unfamiliar environment. - Mimi.
"

[PianoandPage]

props for "city fauna" i LOVE that concept.

also i really enjoyed "misplaced in the woods"

this felt a little disjointed at times on a purely critical level but for ideas and imagery it wins in my book and that is what mostly matters right?

[Barry S. Maltese]

No, there are no chirping crickets, but at times there are things about the city that I miss. Yet, with all of it's good, I still moved to suburbia to escape the constant activity within the city. There is something to be said about finding peace. Toning down to a stillness. Letting your coscience mind heal itself.
Great write Dave. And so very true.

Domine Pace, my friend
God's Peace

[Phantom Heart]

the nights without lights
garnished
with chirping crickets"

What a great description!

[Ebby]

So infrequently does music add to the pleasure of reading, but you have shattered my dispondancy. Not only did this set the scene, but it slowed my reading pace, perhaps to the speed of you pen, of your thoughtstrand, who can tell?

I am a country girl, but the English countryside, which for my limited knowledge, I believe to be very different.

This is the kind of poetry that can only arise from the moment. A most absorbing and enjoyable read, thank you.
Kind regards.

[J.P. Bristow]

Great soundtrack to this...and so true...my boyfriend is completely citified and he could not sleep in the country......great write