Foolishly Swift

Posted on March 9, 2021 by purplepeninportland 
Written for:  dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille:  Swift
(posted by sarahsouthwest)

"Swifts are a relative of the swallow – but harder to spot. They fly around a million miles over a lifetime – enough to take them to the moon, and back, and back again. They fly far enough to go five times round the earth every year. And that’ pretty much all they do. They feed on the wing, they mate on the wing, they land for long enough to lay eggs and hatch chicks, but mostly, they fly. You won’t see them perching on a wire or a twig, you will only see them in flight. And they are fast – they can even beat a peregrine falcon in a flat race."

"Swift also means fast, of course. I’m not sure whether the bird was named for its speed, or if swift was first used as a metaphor likening someone to the bird. Horses are swift and pints are drunk swiftly."


Glasses of red 
wine pour down 
her throat with
the swiftness
of a racehorse.
Of course the
difference is
that racehorses
may win, while she
will be looked
upon with swift
condemnation.
When dinner
is served, she falls
face forward into 
her Caesar salad.

https://dversepoets.com/

About purplepeninportland

I am a freelance poet, born and bred in Brooklyn, New York. I live with my husband, John, and two charming rescue dogs–Marion Miller and Murphy. We spent eight lovely years in Portland, OR, but are now back in New York. My goal is to create and share poetry with others who write, or simply enjoy reading poetry. I hope to touch a nerve in you, and feel your sparks as well.
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23 Responses to Foolishly Swift

  1. rothpoetry says:
    March 9, 2021 at 1:22 am

    This sounds like a really bad dinner night for her! An interesting take on the prompt !

    Like

  2. Arcadia Maria says:
    March 9, 2021 at 1:27 am

    Indeed an interesting take on the prompt. Nicely done.

    Like

  4. lynn__ says:
    March 9, 2021 at 3:11 am

    Drinking like a fish…er, horse, doesn’t end well!

    Like

  6. sarahsouthwest says:
    March 9, 2021 at 9:51 am

    I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It’s a terrible story, once you think about it. I want to know why she needed to obliterate herself.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Ron. says:
    March 9, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    You got her just right, Sara. I dated her once. Once was enough.

    Like

  8. Helen Dehner says:
    March 9, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    Sara, this is wonderfully hysterically funny … well done.

    Like

  9. revivedwriter says:
    March 9, 2021 at 6:13 pm

    That is funny in writing but would be incredibly sad to witness.

    Like

  10. msjadeli says:
    March 9, 2021 at 6:46 pm

    I love this part:
    “Of course the
    difference is
    that racehorses
    may win”
    The seasoning for the salad is in the story.
    Very well done, Sara.

    Like

  11. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) says:
    March 9, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    It is funny… but really sad when someone cannot hold their liquor…

    Like

Comments are closed.