​A Symphony

[MHenry]

A Symphony

The butcher's blade cuts swiftly
Through the fresh carcass
Carving perfect steaks
Every few seconds
Pausing to swat
A fly

But the stubborn fly, persisting
Circles back insistently
Always returning
Every few seconds
To the butcher's
Cutting hand

The butcher's blade conducts
A symphony in the air
To the winds and strings
Of the fly's persistent
Buzzing and arrogant
Forays

At wit's and patience end
The butcher abandons
The bright red carcass
For the hairy, black
Insignificant, unruly
Intruder

But the fly is elusive and swift
And the butcher's knife
Cannot find it's mark
So skillfully applied
To a lifeless carcass
But not the fly

The delivery boy returns
As the melodrama unfolds
Alternating between smirk
And grimace, when in one
Quick scoop of his hand
The fly is caught!

A virtuoso performance by the boy!
To the undying gratitude
Of the spent butcher
Who returns, vanquished
To the lifeless bovine
Carcass

[RhymeLovingWriter]

Oh yes - this is wonderful! Beautiful to read - amusing - wonderful formatting - what art! Thanks MHenry!

[grant hayes]

Your recent poems are very 'flesh and blood', MHenry. There's something almost folkloric about this scene, or painterly; I can imagine it as a scene on some 17th century canvas. My only quibble is the change of tense from past to present between the second and third stanzas. May be better being in present the whole way through; adds to the immediacy.

[imrogue]

I do agree with you grant hayes... That is also how I pictured MHenry's poem ... from a 17th century scene.

[imrogue]

i like this! very amusing. 😊 kudos to the kid who caught the fly 👍🏼

[MHenry]

Hi, grant and RLW, Thank you for reading and enjoying!

Grant, thank you for pointing out the change in tense. That is a good suggestion.

I changed the first line of the second stanza. Is this enough to bring it back into the present, or do I have more work to do? I see it in the present tense in my mind, so it might be hard for me to unsee it that way without a little nudge.

[grant hayes]

First stanza:
The butcher's blade cuts swiftly

Second stanza:
But the stubborn fly, persisting,
Circles back insistently

Puts it into the present without changing words or number of syllables.

[MHenry]

Done! Thank you, grant! I think I am either tired, or a poor grammarian!

[grant hayes]

All good, MHenry. Like a last dab of paint on a large canvas.

[MHenry]

Thank you, imrogue!

[Brainwreck]

I got a laugh from that one. I have seen flies caught midair. Grammarian, another new word for me.

[MHenry]

Thanks for reading, Brainwreck. You are here for everyone, and everyone is here for you. I am glad you got a laugh. Bless you.