Ode to a Nightingale

John Herlihy

Hark! I do hear an exquisite melody,

Bound in rhythms of sheer mystery.

In the silence, the air, the sound real,

In depths of spirit, my heart to steal.

Sung from the soul of a solitary bird,

The most beautiful sound ever heard.

Wings as fully extended and held aloft,

Fanning the air with light feathers soft.

This male nightingale harmony brings,

The quiet female looks on, never sings.

Reduced a Chinese emperor to tears,

And later lived at court for many years.

Nightly to sing on a pomegranate tree,

Sweet melodies steeped in melancholy.

The bird takes its name from the night,

Whose songs of beauty echo with light.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Thursday 6 March 2025