Dove-Song

A poem that captures the serene beauty of a dove's song at dawn.

This poem is part of the NaPoWriMo 2025 challenge to write a poem a day in April. This is the prompt for April 23.

Humans might be the only species to compose music, but we’re quite famously not the only ones to make it. Birdsong is all around us – even in cities, there are sparrows chirping, starlings making a racket. And it’s hardly surprising that birdsong has inspired poets. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that focuses on birdsong. Need examples? Try A.E. Stallings’ “Blackbird Etude,” or for an old-school throwback, Shelley’s “To a Skylark.”

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In dawn’s gentle blush,  
coos, soft and sorrowful,  
daybreak notes, repeating—
a birdsong jazz riff.  
Perched on a weathered branch,  
a dove releases a sound like distant memories,  
a sigh that drifts through the trees,  
hushed notes curling into air,  
each one a brush against the heart.

Its serenade stirs the world beneath,  
dew-kissed grasses hold their breath,
and the horizon blushes in anticipation,  
the sky painted in soft pastels,  
while the dove sings of love lost and found,  
of quiet moments shared beneath the canopy,  
where sunlight first breaks through,  
and warmth spills like honey.

What stories linger in its call?  
Is it a plea for connection,  
or a reminder of solitude?  
Each coo floats,  
a feathered echo of longing,  
a thread binding earth to heaven,
as if the very air vibrates  
with unspoken promises.

As the day unfolds,  
the dove’s song drifts away,  
but its essence lingers,  
a soft imprint on the soul,  
a serene invitation to pause,  
to listen to the world’s heartbeat,  
and in that gentle sound,  
find a moment of peace,  
a quiet place where time ceases to matter.

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