Live Encounters Poetry & Writing July 2025
The Twinkling Firefly, poems by Kevin Cowdall.
The Twinkling Firefly
‘Bioluminescence.’
There’s a word for
a scientist to explain:
The emission of light
by living organisms,
usually at night.
A poet would say:
Flashing patterns
of scattered lights
glowing in the darkness.
A twinkling galaxy
of dancing fireflies,
weaving a moving tapestry
of luminous stiches across
Nature’s blank canvas.
The Towering Giraffe
At first glance,
while they stand
with necks extended
still further to reach
the topmost leaves
of the acacia tree,
one ponders at length,
imaging such towering creatures
to move with an ungainly stride.
But there is an innate elegance,
almost majestic, in their gait;
as they demonstrate of a sudden,
moving off with a casual ease
toward the nearby watering hole.
Standing with forelegs wide spread,
they stoop to lap at the surface,
ever ready, all senses keen,
alert for any potential danger.
Peacock (Tanka)
Strutting and preening,
with tail feathers fully fanned,
a peacock poses
with a pomp and grand conceit.
Peahens remain unimpressed.
© Kevin Cowdall
Kevin Cowdall was born in Liverpool, England, where he still lives and works. In all, over 300 of Kevin’s poems have been published in journals, magazines, and anthologies, and on web sites, in the UK and Ireland, across Europe, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Canada, and the USA, and broadcast on BBC Radio, RTÉ Radio, Ireland, and local radio stations across the UK. His 2016 retrospective collection, Assorted Bric-à-brac, brought together the best from three previous collections with a selection of newer poems. His 2019 collection, Natural Inclinations, features fifty poems with a common theme of the natural world. His most recent collection, 100 Haiku (2024), is a celebration of the traditional Japanese unrhymed poetic form, mostly on the theme of nature. His poem for children, The Land of Dreams, was published on the Letterpress Project website, wonderfully illustrated by Chris Riddell, and is available on YouTube.
Kevin,
That’s a fine tanka.
Kaaren