You know very well, oh
I'm not one to dwell, so
I wrote something mellow
about this young fellow.
 |
| Baby grasshopper on my porch post |
A Grasshopper Alone
A grasshopper cannot find
true friends
For he’s at the mercy
of where his jump ends
Just when he thinks he’s
spotted a stop
He finds that he’s taken
too huge a hop
Over that spot and just
out of reach
He calls out “hello” to every
and each
Grasshopper as he soars
overhead
And lands wherever his
jumping has led
No friends come to visit
for their plight’s the same
Jumping and hopping
is their lonely game.
It cannot be done
with a partner in tow
Their jumps seldom land
where another one goes
The chances of two of them
landing together
Is as rare as snow in
summer’s warm weather
A grasshopper cannot find
true friends
For he’s at the mercy
of where his jump ends
Just when he thinks he’s
spotted a stop
He finds that he’s taken
too huge a hop
Over that spot and just
out of reach
He calls out “hello” to every
and each
Grasshopper as he soars
overhead
And lands wherever his
jumping has led
No friends come to visit
for their plight’s the same
Jumping and hopping
is their lonely game.
It cannot be done
with a partner in tow
Their jumps seldom land
where another one goes
The chances of two of them
landing together
Is as rare as snow in
summer’s warm weather
But if ever two should
land in one spot
I’m sure they’d remember
the manners they’re taught
“Hello, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
land in one spot
I’m sure they’d remember
the manners they’re taught
“Hello, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Glad we met.”
“Good-bye”
“Good-bye”
and “Good day!”
And without one regret
They’d both take a leap
And go on their ways
Never to meet again
all of their days.
And without one regret
They’d both take a leap
And go on their ways
Never to meet again
all of their days.
©Donna JT Smith
Donna, this is a delightful poem! You know, I never thought about the plight of the grasshopper before. It must be a pretty lonely life just hopping and hopping about and seldom meeting up with 'friends.'
ReplyDeleteThat was what struck me when I saw this little guy on our porch post.
DeleteI enjoyed your sweet poems, Donna, but cannot help thinking that some people are like grasshoppers and often jump too far or too close. Hopefully though, when they meet a fellow grasshopper, they manage to meet again.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think sometimes we are a bit like grasshoppers...
Deleteha. light hearted but i wonder at the grasshopper that never gets the chance to have deeper connections...there is a harder edge just under the surface of this to me.....
ReplyDelete...could be...
DeleteLove the insight, as others above mention, & love that you found a unique way to share about a grasshopper's plight so poetically. Nice to read... "For he’s at the mercy
ReplyDeleteof where his jump ends" - Is it true-no choice?
enjoyed, light and delightful
ReplyDeletehave a nice Wednesday
much love...
yeah...we are sometime like these fellows..hopping and jumping around but thank god mostly with friends...what a delightful read...
ReplyDeleteThis is so much fun. I smiled all the way through - but have to wonder, how do they manage to mate? hee hee.
ReplyDeleteThis will perhaps require another line or two...
DeleteIf Mr (or Ms) Right perchance
landed by them
There’d soon be some eggs
on a leaf or a stem.
Yet then they’d still leave
Those babies behind
to fend for themselves
How very unkind!
Wow, thank you! I didnt know they procreated with eggs!
DeleteGreat write, so much going on and so alive, it really captures the life of a grasshopper.
ReplyDeleteFun poem, but a little sad too. I wonder if grasshoppers and other small hoppers really cannot control where they land. Life could be pretty random if you are a hopper.
ReplyDeleteDelightful poem. Made me smile :-)
ReplyDeleteA grasshopper cannot find
ReplyDeletetrue friends
For he’s at the mercy
of where his jump ends . . . oh so true of those among us who cannot settle themselves down. Smiles.
Hi, Donna. I love those lines too:
ReplyDeleteFor he’s at the mercy
of where his jump ends
Just when he thinks he’s
spotted a stop
He finds that he’s taken
too huge a hop
Over that spot and just
out of reach
The grasshopper comes with his own seven league boots.
I had to laugh and laugh out loud such fun to read.. So many times we also jump to where we want to be but miscalculate and miss the expected landing spot!
ReplyDeleteA sweet light poem. You are lucky you made many of us smiled through your poem. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but to smile while I read your poem. But at the same time it felt sad. I never thought of grasshoppers this way, and somehow I can now see a reflection of me on them... I move to new cities very often, so I keep "jumping and hopping" and don't have much time to make friends everytime I stop. I found this poem simply lovely! Thank you for sharing it and for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I've seen grasshoppers often and never gave a thought to their loneliness. This poem opened my eyes. I love the shape you gave it with the conversation and the ending. Thank you for the wake up!
ReplyDeleteThis is sort of a rolling stone gathers no moss poem.Well guess what with a lot of intelligence and ingenuity a cigale can gather rosebuds while she may and survive the winters ( got to be smart and live where winters are ridiculouly mild though ) and can also have another hopper in tow. Admittedly he becomes obstreporous and want to hop in different directions but a few stick insect and insecticide threats sorts that one. So don't feel too sorry for a grasshopper.LOL
ReplyDelete