Monday, May 31, 2010


Juliet’s Question

It was the one hour in the long twenty-four that stands off alone to itself, far away from midnight, not the least bit close to the dawn. 
 The very dead of night.  
Three am.
I alone was awake in the house.  I alone heard the song.  An eerie tune, almost macabre, that rose up out of the trees in the garden, so unexpected, so strange, a concerto performed by a feathered musician hitherto unheard in these parts.
Singing full tilt at the top of his lungs, like a sentinel warning of battle, his shrill voice split through the night like an arrow.  I slipped out of bed and went to the window.  The Flower moon, so full in the sky, illuminated all her white subjects - Annabelle's and impatiens, gardenia and rose.  They shone like a gargantuan strand of Mother Nature’s best pearls, broken and scattered cross a navy blue floor.
The anonymous bird sang his song on and on, with barely a stop between stanzas, more urgent than joyful, a song for the night.  
“Who is he?”, I thought, as a shudder ran its finger along my shoulders.
 A raven herald of myth, or a starling in the midst of a dream?  A phoenix rising from the ashes of the moon, or a firebird in search of the sun’s golden fruit?
 So I wondered as Juliet had long before me,
 was it the Lark or the Nightingale that sang in my garden,
 long after midnight, too early for dawn?


*************************************
JULIET
 Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day: 
    It was the nightingale, and not the lark, 
    That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear; 
    Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree: 
    Believe me, love, it was the nightingale. 

ROMEO 
It was the lark, the herald of the morn, 
    No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks 
    Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east: 
    Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day 
    Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. 
    I must be gone and live, or stay and die. 


Romeo and Juliet
Act 3, Scene 5
by William Shakespeare

47 comments:

  1. So fanciful, and yet literary, too!

    Your description of the moon's white subjects was such a good example of your charming and inimitable style.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful! You are such an exceptionally talented writer. While rading this, I felt I was THERE - hearing the bird, bathed in moonlight, wonderng....
    So why haven't you written a book?
    Cenya

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your writing is lovely...I too have awakened this year to a bird singing in the dark night.
    I loved the line.. 'They shone like a gargantuan strand of Mother Nature's best pearls, broken and scattered across a navy blue floor.' I could really picture standing at the window in the moonlight listening.
    Thank you so much for visiting and for your understanding words about my dear Georgie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, you brought back such memories...years ago when I lived in a different place, I would hear the nightingale singing in the wee hours...ahhh, that was such a long time ago now...but I am still a *night owl* and now we live in the woods where, very often, other owls are up with me :>]

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for sharing your evening's events!

    As if I were there listening to the songs too!

    L.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your writing is silky smooth and compels one to read on. A picture of the night, and elysian bird song, and the moon white subjects is clear enough to see, to feel, to hear.

    Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow..this gave me goosebumps..soooo beautiful..:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. A night bird calls, to wit to woo, a portend in the stillness or just luring you to drink of the beauty of the moonlit garden?

    ReplyDelete
  9. So lovely, I can almost hear the lark. Or is it the nightingale? It is dusk here now, soon it will be dark. The windows are open and I am wondering if I will hear a birdsong between night and dawn. Lovely, so lovely, Pamela. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just lovely!
    I love to hear the birds singing, no matter the hour. All I hear lately is the hum of the air conditioning! That's just life in steamy South Carolina!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I wish I could write like you...beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Love from London x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely written.
    The other night upon returning home very late I saw a small white owl sitting in my driveway. She flew off after a moment and had such wide wing span even though she was rather smmall in height...
    A garden in moon light is magical...

    ReplyDelete
  13. lovely post on this beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Virginia!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I got goosebumps reading this, Pamela. So beautiful are your words they stay with me all day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful. Your writing is so very lyrical and your dogs....adorable! Looking forward to more visits....
    xx P&H

    ReplyDelete
  16. Each post of yours is poetry. I really think your blog is unique!!

    Happy monday xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. So beautifully written, Pamela......you always have us in the palm of your hand, whether you are bringing us to tears, making us laugh or sending shivers down our spine.
    It is such a joy visiting you.
    Give Edward a hug from, please ! XXXX

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just love the way you write, gf, you are good! Thanks for the sweet note that you left for me.

    ReplyDelete
  19. "Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain ", I love that piece of writing so much. The more I read it the more I marvel.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your prose is so beautiful and perfect Pamela that I could read it all day long. You must go into print.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree:
    Sweet Juliet....


    All wonderful Pamela...you have captivated us again and this one sentence still lingers with me..I just love it.

    Jeanne:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Maybe a cuckoo? In Spring the cuckoos arive and call desperately for a mate all night long.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful ... sums it up nicely I think! As ever! Suzie xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hello P&E,

    Beautiful words from both Will and you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a beautiful description of the white flowers in the garden illuminated by the moon!

    ReplyDelete
  26. A teller of wonderful tales you are my friend. I do enjoy each and every one!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Love the product suggestions! Can't wait to get the lip stain ;).

    ReplyDelete
  28. If one must be awake in the middle of the night it is lovely to be serenaded...Did you ever find out what kind of bird it was?...My favorite night time singer is the Whipporwill...haunting...

    ReplyDelete
  29. diazepam 5mg street price valium pills - valium dosage 5 mg

    ReplyDelete
  30. buy xanax online benadryl xanax drug interactions - xanax 1 mg street value

    ReplyDelete
  31. zolpidem without prescription get high zolpidem tartrate - zolpidem no prescription online

    ReplyDelete
  32. zolpidem ambien zolpidem tartrate er side effects - zolpidem 10 mg mk

    ReplyDelete
  33. ativan no prescription ativan addiction mayo - permanent effects ativan overdose

    ReplyDelete
  34. xanax drug where to buy alprazolam - xanax xr vs xanax

    ReplyDelete
  35. discount xanax xanax withdrawal gaba supplements - xanax xr 2mg dose

    ReplyDelete
  36. xanax anxiety xanax online no membership - xanax and alcohol depression

    ReplyDelete
  37. xanax 0.5mg xanax drug warnings - xanax bars for recreational use

    ReplyDelete
  38. valium diazepam how much diazepam for dogs - green diazepam 10mg

    ReplyDelete
  39. buy xanax pass drug test xanax 24 hours - xanax pills cost

    ReplyDelete
  40. buy xanax online no prescription generic xanax mylan a3 - zoloft xanax withdrawal

    ReplyDelete
  41. buy soma buy soma online no prescription mastercard - buy soma online in texas

    ReplyDelete
  42. soma for sale buy soma shampoo - carisoprodol class

    ReplyDelete
  43. buy ambien online no prescription ambien during pregnancy 1st trimester - buy ambien online canada

    ReplyDelete
  44. buy generic valium valium generic online - street prices for valium 10 mg

    ReplyDelete
  45. cheap soma buy soma online without rx - order soma online overnight

    ReplyDelete
  46. generic ambien buy e 79 pill ambien - ambien cr and headaches

    ReplyDelete

I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!