22 June 2007

Happy Birthday Columbia, A Street Poem (of sorts)

Daybreak, Yellow Dawn, Morning Light,
Morning Leap, Morning Time, Eastern Morning,
Morningmist, Morning Walk, Morning Ride

Drowsy Day, Daylong, April Day, May Day, Summer Day,
Many Days, Majestic Days

Afternoon, Good Hours, Better Hours, Ourtime, Best Times,
Clocktower, Tolling Clock, Hourglass, Hour Hand, Minute Hand, Timesweep,
Evening Shadows, Setting Sun, Sunset Light, Last Sunbeam

Nightmist, Welcome Night, Sweet Hours, Perfect Hour,
Quiet Night, Quiet Times, Quiet Hours,
Purple Twilight, Twilight Grove

Celestial

Shining Stars, Countless Stars, Great Star,
Eastern Star, Western Star,
Black Star, Gray Star, White Star,
Cold Star, Even Star, Farstar, Setting Star,
Starburn, Starsplit, Starwreath

Ascending Moon, Rising Moon, New Moon,
Silent Moon, Phantom Moon,
Round Moon, Fall Moon, Harvest moon, Waning Moon,
Moonrider, Moonsails, Moonfall,
Moonfire, Moon Glass, Moon Portrait,
Woven Moonbeam

Twelvemonth

Summer Sunrise, Summer Blossom, Summer Cloud,
Mid Summer, Indian Summer

Winterfield, Winterlong,
Winter Corn, Winter Pasture

Early Spring, Waiting Spring, Sunny Spring,
Spring Plow, Spring Pools, Spring Water

Sunlit Water, Sunlit Passage,
Silent Sun, Sunfleck

Open Sky, Pure Sky,
Summer Sky, Slender Sky,
Bare Sky, Skyward

East Wind, Autumn Wind, May Wind,
Evening Wind, Morning Wind,
Highwind, Wildwind, Whistling Winds,
Seawind, Spicewind, Sweetwind,
Wind Dance, Wind Rider,
Windbell, Windmill, Windstream

Slow Rain, Kind Rain,
Soft Thunder, Distant Thunder, Farthest Thunder,
Storm Drift, Rivulet, Torrent

April Brook, Eden Brook, Hyla Brook,
Reedy Brook, Thistle Brook,
Mellenbrook, West Running Brook

Hallowed Stream, Swiftstream, Swift Current,
Moving Water, Rippling Water, Little Patuxent,
Fallriver, Snowden River, Mad River,
Deep River Canyon, Bigriver Run
Twin Rivers, Wolf River,
River Oak, River Run, Riverark,

Old Sea, Trackless Sea,
Western Sea, Youngsea, Resting Sea,
Blue Sea, Gray Sea, Lilac Sea,
Sea Light, Sea Shadow

Mystic Ocean, Eternal Ocean,
Rising Waves, Rippling Tides,
High Tide, Tidesebb

Ocean Shore, Gleaming Sand, Sandalfoot,
Sandchain, Sandlight, Sandrope

Dry Stone, Fallen Stone,
Whetstone, Carved Stone, Polished Stone,
Netherstone, Copperstone, Elfstone
Stone Cloud, Stoneboat, Stonegate

Distant Rock, Shining Rock,
Gray Rock, Cradlerock,
Rock Coast, Rocksparkle

Burnt Mountain, Worn Mountain, Green Mountain, Kilimanjaro

African Hill, Cloudburst Hill, Rain Dream Hill,
High Tor Hill, Millet Seed Hill,
Soaring Hill, Ranging Hills,
Kerry Hill, Murray Hill,
Harpoon Hill, Manorhill, Night Street Hill

Smooth Meadow, Green Meadow

Many Flower, Open Flower, Flowerstock,
Shell Flower, Steel Flower, Flowertuft,
Flagflower, Wildflower, Rain Flower

Alpine Rose, Angel Rose
Winter Rose, Yellowrose
Morning Glory, Scarlet Petal, Scarlet Sage,
Early Lilacs, Lilac Bush, Wild Lilac,
Wild Ginger, Wild Grass, Wild Orange,
Grapevine, Hazel Thicket, Hemlock Cone, Pinecone

Big Woods, Towering Elm, Towering Oak,
Tall Branches, Tree Top

Elliots Oak, Fair Oaks, Oaken Door,
Hickory Limb, Hickory Log

Crimson Tree, Lone Tree,
Peartree, Youngtree,
Silver Tree, Waving Tree

Seedling, Spinning Seed,
Ivy Bush, Orchard, Thicket,
Water Lily, Watercress

New Leaf, Each Leaf, Folded Leaf,
Dry Leaf, Rustling Leaf, Alderleaf,
Leaf Treader, Leafy Screen

Browsing Deer, Deerfoot, Deer Chase,
Deer Pasture, Deer Season
Stag Horn, Sharp Antler,
Young Buck, Marble Faun

Good Lion, Chase Lions, Lynx

Green Dragon, Old Dragon, Dragonclaw

Cross Fox, Little Foxes, Quick Fox

Raccoon, Possum, Beaverkill, Gray Mouse,
Camelback, Ram's Horn,
Sleeping Dog, Hound Hill

Sleepy Horse, Spotted Horse, Thoroughbred,
Wild Filly, Roan Stallion, Coltsfoot

Bird Song Little Bird, Oven Bird,
Silent Bird, Single Bird, Tamebird,
Chatterbird, Morningbird, Darting Bird

Flight Feather, Feathered Head,
Pigeonwing, Broken Wing, Ring Dove,
Trumpeter, Swan Point, Blue Heron, Waterfowl

Bright Hawk, Dark Hawk, Henhawk, Marsh Hawk, Woodenhawk
Eaglebeak, Eagles Wing, Osprey,
Gray Owl, Wild Turkey

Bobolink, Cardinal,
Little Sparrow, Robin Song

Wineglass, Dusty Glass, Glass Tumbler,
Fairmead, Mellow Wine, Rum Cay,
Liquid Laughter, Snuffbox, The Bowl

Distant Melody, Empty Song, Evensong,
Victorious Song, Nightsong,
Broken Lute, Triangle,
Banjo, Minstrel

Bronze Bell, Eight Bells, Little Bells

Great Drum, Drum Taps,
Hundred Drums, Mustering Drum

Bugledrum, Buglenote, Distant Bugles,
Silver Trumpet, Trumpet Sound

Windharp, Harp String

Blacksmith, Butler, Cameldriver,
Helmsman, Hermit, Matador,
Schoolmaster, Stonecutter, Shepherd

Faulkner Ridge, Hickory Ridge, Oakland Mills,
Owen Brown, Dorsey Hall, Phelps Luck,
Stevens Forest, Swansfield, Wilde Lake

Governor Warfield, Rouse, Columbia

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is just lovely, Bill. Creative, quirky, intelligent and true to Columbia! What a great birthday present to your home town.

wordbones said...

Nicely done Bill.
-wb

Anonymous said...

It's nice and all, but you managed to leave out both the street I grew up on and the street I currently live on....I feel like I've wasted my entire life living on two street not worthy of this poem....

Anonymous said...

Really nice job Bill!!

P.S. The bathroom looks great.

B. Santos said...

David,

Sorry about the omission. With approximately 1200 streets, it became really tough to find a place for all of them, especially with thier suffix (Court, Road, Terrace..) omitted. If it helps any, I have lived on three streets in Columbia, and my wife has lived on two. Of the three streets I lived on, none of them made the cut, and only one of the streets my wife lived on made it into the final post. Quite honestly, the street I spent my teen years on, Elffolk Terrace, really is a tough one to put with anything.

To help remedy the situation, I will post the entire list next week, and we can get the poetry moving in many different directions; with the help of everyone in the blogosphere.

Anonymous said...

Lyrical poetry with a song in it's heart! What are the possibilities of setting this romance with The Given to music?

Okay, it's understandable why you didn't opt for the toilet fish tank in the blue room...now there's a mood setter if there ever was one :]