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| Indiana State Parks photo |
CARD’NAL, CARD’NAL
Card’nal, Card’nal, trilling bright,
In the forests, reddened sight;
What wondrous hand or tool,
Did frame thy beauty as a jew’l?
In the oaks, beneath the skies
Whence the fire of thine eyes;
And your majestic color-coat
You wear natural without gloat?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the stirring of thy heart?
On what chords dare you aspire?
What hand bids you sing higher?
Thy brightened beak, tis also true,
Doth to beauty accrue.
Yet your mate, in lesser garb
Holds not a jealous barb.
No craftsman at glowing forge
Did your work divine disgorge
No one smiled his work to see
Thy charms themselves just came to be.
Card’nal, Card’nal, trilling bright,
In the forests, reddened sight;
Nature’s blind hand as tool,
Did frame thy beauty as a jew’l.
— March 29, 2015, with nods, but no apologies, to William Blake
