Two Wings to Fly

Poem # 57 - Fun with Poetic Form Series - The Parable

Burned the left wing in the left barrel 
The right wing in the right 
The body fearing it was next
Had some trouble taking flight

Grounded by some force of nature
Had to make another plan
Leaden wings just wouldn’t flap
Yelled up to God, What’s with this crap?

Suddenly, a booming voice
From somewhere in the universe
Said, The master plan, the great design 
Gave birds two wings with which to fly

We don’t understand!
They’re wingnuts, cried the center man
Certain that the barrel fire
Made the world a great deal better

Could not comprehend 
The balance in the plan
Achieved by the Lord’s mix
of Lincoln Logs and Pick Up Sticks

How are we to compromise
Without perspectives left and right?
God gave the center phantom wings
to navigate to better things

Copyright ©️ 2025, David Angel, All Rights Reserved 

Cici - 

So are we to assume that extremists are necessary - good somehow? 

Angel - 

Well, if you only cut off one wing, unless we're talking about a very large turkey, someone’s bound to go hungry 

Cici - 

I get your drift - no need for explanation beyond the emblematic parallelism employed in service of the object lesson. But Dave, do you truly consider the parable to be a "poetic" form?  Are not parabolic morality tales usually conveyed in prose?

Angel - 

Once upon a time there was an inquisitive but slightly critical scientist whose questions were like sipping a half-melted grape snow cone on a hot summer afternoon at the carnival

PoetNote - 

"Emblematic parallelism is a poetic device often used in the book of Proverbs. It is one of several types of parallelism used in Hebrew poetry. [It] is constructed with a symbol or metaphor (an emblem) that is placed side by side (in parallel) with its meaning. A verse that exhibits emblematic parallelism will feature an illustration and its interpretation - an extended simile or an ancient object lesson, as it were. 

Proverbs 25:13 is an example of the use of emblematic parallelism:

'Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.'"

-gotquestions. org

Barreltography by David Angel

FUN WITH POETIC FORM SERIES:

#1 When Her Poetry is Good
#2 Bad, Poetry, Society,
#3 Hard Pass on Poetry Contests
#4 Living Yesterday
#5 When Poetry Inspires Rhyme
#6 Appetence for Poetry
#7 Free Poetry & Worth Every Cent
#8 Patchwork Poetry
#9 First Stab at a Senryū
#10 Of the Ether
#11 When Allegory Inspires Rhyme
#12 On Poetic Form and the Value of Time
#13 Limerick
#14 Better than God
#15 Professor of Poetry
#16 A Mouthful of Hendecasyllables
#17 Write to Win
#18 The Ontology of Poetry
#19 "Express Dick," Learn Siri!
#20 Placento - the "Cento"
#21 The Slave of Poetic Duty
#22 Birth of a Poetic Form Series - the "Lowku"
#23 Why Dimeter has Four Syllables per Line
#24 They're Just Dead Leaves - the Villanelle
# 25 (a-e) - the Haiku
Breakup Haikus
Om Haiku 
Haiku Contest - Subject: The Future
Alpha-Bit "Haikus" 
Haikus of Hope
#26 Short Poet Society - Short Poets
#27 I Mean Like Fortune Cookies Sonnet
#28 (a-d) - the Ekphrastic poem -
Hidden Meaning
Speak No Evil’s All Too Short Love Affair with See No Evil’s Wife
The Rift Between the Wall
Did the Princess Lose her Pet?
#29 (a-e) - Love Lost Series - 
a. Limerick b. Haiku c. Sijo d. Sonnet e. Blank verse
#30 Egghead "Poetry"
#31 Blunt Instruments - On words
#32 On Gleaning Meaning from a Poem and The Four Questions
# 33 The Lune
#34 The Evil Genie Said "Choose!"
# 35 Feather and Chain - The "Decrescendo"
# 36 Walkin' the DOGE - Political Satire
#37 The Second Coming? - Rap
# 38 Prosody for Dum-dums
# 39 The ABCs of Gloating - The Rhyme Scheme
#40 Fluckmeter Sonnet
#41 Breaking the Tomatometer
# 42 Erasing Erasure Eyewash
# 43 The Trump FUKKU
# 44 Can't Stop Rimming
# 45 Sell No Rhyme Before It's Time - The Slant Rhyme
# 46 The Free Verse Curse - Vers Libre
# 47 Postmark BFE - The Prompt
# 48 Soft Spot for Animals - On Inspiration
# 49 Pita and Circuses - Satire
# 50 The Vomitcratic Party - Free Verse
#51 Wood You Like More "Haikus?" - The "Funku"
# 52 - A Good Geek'll Do That - Write it down or lose it!
# 53 - Aerodynamics of Flight - Evolution of a Poem
#54 - London Bridge is Falling Down Haiku - The Renga
#55 - The Desaltery - Poetic License
#56 - Dumbwasteoftimedoh - The Rondeau
#57 - Yes It Does! - The Slant Rhyme
#58 - Temptation Sonnet - The Angelspearean Sonnet
#59 - A Poet Worth Her Salt - Write Only from the Heart
# 60 - The Enquirer - Literary Criticism for English Minors
# 61 - Storge: Not Exactly My Plan - The Acrostic Poem
# 62 - Two Wings to Fly - The Parable