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!

[Antony]

Hey David beautiful music fits so well here. A great description of the sounds we can hear while lying sleepless in the country. I can really relate to this as i have experienced both city and country living. Nice
Tony

[Ilene M.W. Lush]

there is a tree growing in Brooklyn...and I know why they chose bears to advertise toilet paper on tv...

it is a nice piece. makes me crave sleeping under the stars. although we do go up to the roof now and then...its not the same. I camped in SF Natl Forest with wild burroughs oops burrows circling the tent.

thanks dave
i

[Self-esteem]

This is so accurate...city folk misplaced in the woods..you ain't never lied!!!! I like the descriptions.This is terrific.

[Christopher J. Bottge]

This has alot of significance, great poem!

[Randall Richard]

i am awestruck by the grizzley bear, ironically the only place i've ever seen one is in the bronx. (the zoo of course). this poem is quite good. i can relate in many ways , i have bounced from city to country and back again throughout the years, and each transition is an adjustment. your images are real and you threw in some of my favorite words (cicada, cacophony, i must be in a c mood today. i guess it's carrots coke and cookies for lunch!) great stuff.

[Gary H]

This is super work. Loved the soundtrack. You can make the sound recorder smaller by reducing the size after you paste it in the poem. Can't remember how I did it now but think I just reduced the same amount from each part of the recorder to get it smaller.

Loved the images you've portrayed, 'nights with out lights' and 'lying sleepless,
a million stars above' are just such perfect.

Funny how there is so much to be seen and heard outside of the busy world that city life ignores.

Not sure about how friendly the bear looks though!

[Tessa]

Your poem reminded me of a line by a great writer, Jon Mcgregor,
"If you listen, you can hear it,
The city, it sings."
The city has its own lullaby of urban living, just as the country with
bull and tree frogs
singing for their mates
I lived in the country as a child, and the city always seemed a chaotic, noisy place, so it works both ways. I like the refined imagery in this piece, and also your honesty in that you your were "lying sleepless."
Haven't made up my mind about the new media trend, adding the music at the start as you do, but I think it combines well here. Thanks for the share :)