For this penultimate day of Paul Brookes’ challenge, I used all three paintings for inspiration. You can see them here, along with all the poems.

Listen

Listen to the pulse of the world,
beating with bird wings,
the heart of friends so soon gone.

Nothing lingers.
Time hangs by the slenderest of threads,
gossamer, moonlight, the touch of a hand,

listen to the soft whispering
of leaves falling.

Listen to the wisdom in tongues
we cannot speak, listen
to the language of eyes
and the dance of feathers.

Nothing is wasted, nothing frivolous,
no coloured crest, no striped, spotted,
dappled coat,
no gaudy flash of scales or feathers.

Beauty in its infinite variety
is at the heart,
listen to it speak.