Wending through the willows

A song upon the air

It spirals and it frolics

A lust upon its breath

The words crave for purchase

For ears to pour their course

But silence is its partner

as it dances on the ford

Wending through the willows

It maddens and ferments

Wasp-like for a moment

Then dirge of cricket legs

Demure like a mayfly

Then wispish as the breeze

The song unwinds, forgets itself

and settles on the stream

Wending through the willows

A woodsman cups his ear

On his palm an echo

It sparks and tumbles in

There it lights a bonfire

Song burns and is reborn

The woodsman hums it brightly

as it's loosed upon the air