The Wanderer
Springtime season’s when the growing
Sunshine comes and the soil, it warms
Plants and critters pulse with knowing
Feed store sells pheasant chicks when born
Orphaned, boxed, sold by the dozen
Instead of nuts, seeds, berries, corn
Protein mash, their distant cousin
Lost to nature, tamed and forlorn
Ignoring nature’s ways and means
Before dawn on an autumn morn
Domesticated escapees
Skittered quickly, off to explore
There were three; not long ‘ere were two
Who learned hawk’s cry means be forewarned!
Snow blankets took their food from view
Hungry, saw a farm like before
Huddled between drift and window
Their present sorrow did implore
Weather news predicts sub-zero
Handfuls of quinoa thrown out the door
Gone next day; the blizzard worsened
Will they live, to God I implored
Prayed they’d thrive and stay determined
Aside from that could do no more
Spring returns, the grass is greening
Warmth and sunshine have been restored
Guess who struts in, bright and preening
A missing mate he’s strutting for
Just one, he pecks grains with sorrow,
Peahen’s all he needs, to adore
Ghost of now, hope for tomorrow
Ever wandering, gone by morn
This is a quatrain form, where the rhyme scheme is abab, cbcB, dbdB, ebeB, etc.
The poem is about the pheasants who visited me last winter (there were only two but I added a third in the poem) and the one who has returned again and again since then. My belief is that they were bought as chicks from the feed store and have had no parent to teach them how to survive in the wild.
Grace is today’s host for dVerse Open Link Night (OLN.)
Tao Talk 
Great poem Jade Took me back to my childhood in Pennsylvania when pheasants would wander through the cornfields and fence rows!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you and glad it brought back pleasant memories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it did! Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A moving story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This reads as a saga. Well done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Ken.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are cruel. They don’t like the cold, not adapted to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a sad story… I think I remember how you wrote about your pheasant once before… the backstory of them being left without a way to cope is even sadder I think
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a poignant share! 💝 Excellent work on the quatrain form which isn’t easy to accomplish :) and you have executed it brilliantly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sanaa, thank you very much :)
LikeLike
A poem with girth and heart. Wild creatures sold in pet and feed stores too often do not survive; like orphaned children, they struggle aimlessly sans parenting. Really enjoyed the form and message.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glenn, thank you. I have no clue why the feed store started selling pheasant chicks last year, and seeing them “struggling aimlessly” really tugs at my heart.
LikeLike
I love pheasants, they are such comical birds! We currently have two in our garden who are having a stand-off. One chases the other, and then they reverse roles. Our cats are bemused by them. I love the opening lines, Jade, that glow with springtime, and in the lines:
‘Spring returns, the grass is greening
Warmth and sunshine have been restored
Guess who struts in, bright and preening
A missing mate he’s strutting for’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
:) Very cool to have that going on in your garden. Entertainment for all. Glad you enjoyed the lines, thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Protein mash, their distant cousin
Lost to nature, tamed and forlorn
love this part of the stanza, fed on a foreign diet and forced into an unnatural life, your poem spoke beyond the confines of a small yard and farm. this one has me reading it over a few times, so much imagery for one who loves words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gina, thank you. The poem took me some time to put together and I’m honored you want to take a closer look at it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, I am always in awe of your superb poem crafting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
:) <3
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice description of them as “Domesticated escapees”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Frank!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love stories of nature and especially true experiences with birds and other animals. I think I might have wanted to bring those pheasant in the house with those cold temperatures but then what would I have done with them?! :) I think the quatrain was one of the first forms that I taught myself. I enjoyed the story you told with yours.
Gayle ~
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Gayle!
LikeLike
Pheasants are such beautiful creatures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I hope they are thriving. Enjoyed this reading tonight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
:)
LikeLike
A sad story, well told. I’m not really familiar with such stores, or why they would sell pheasant chicks. How horrible!
LikeLiked by 1 person
March is the month the chicken and duck chicks are sold at the farm store. It will be interesting to see if the pheasant chicks sold last year was “successful.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope they don’t sell any of them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many emotions for me in this one, sadness, but also delight and hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Paul; am glad you connected with it :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
:)
LikeLiked by 1 person