Return of the Red-winged Blackbirds

 

With only remnants left of snow,

And cold and frost now letting go,

There comes my truest sign of spring

With scarlet epauletted wing.

His flash of red is nature's beacon

To say that winter's grip will weaken.

And when the air fills with his song

Of cheering notes so rich and strong,

I know that spring will not be long.

2019

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter

A Vegan's Lament

How can long-time animal activists fail

to see that consistency must prevail?

Not only the steer or broiler 

suffers under the knife.

The dairy cow and laying hen

suffer throughout their longer life ...

only to meet the same blade.

Pictures flash in graphic display

on computer screens, day by day.

Atrocities are not in doubt –

no, that secret's out.

But sadly ...

convenience trumps conscience;

preferences trump principles.

Those whose eyes have seen,

whose ears have heard, 

and yet can turn away

for a good night's sleep

with an egg and dairy meal 

the very next day,

fail in a most profound way.

2018

(from the book Discoveries In The Dark by Doris Potter)

© Doris Potter