Cantata

This has been a fall of overcast skies, obnoxious ads by political candidates, and ever shortening days. But one gloomy morning an unexpected delight reached my ears.



Cantata


I swear it's a robin I hear singing
outside my November window
though his mates skipped town long ago.

What prompts this outpouring of cheer
in a dull autumn dominated
by damp chills and rain, political ads
and pipe bombs?

Did a buffeting wind skew his course,
and does he sing for courage?
Or is he warning of another storm
on the horizon?

Perhaps it's an unwavering belief
in bluebonnet skies
obscured by this month of misgivings.

No matter the motive
his solo a gift, a lift of the heart
in these divisive times.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor