Poem: "Folk Tales in 4-4 Time"
This poem came out of the May 3, 2011 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from janetmiles and jenny_evergreen. In case you're curious, green lacewings are among the top-rated beneficial insects for devouring pests. For folk songs, I highly recommend "The Contemplator's Folk Music Site," a terrific archive with lyrics and music; but be careful, it can suck you in for hours.
Folk Tales in 4/4 Time
We set them to music,
The things we remember:
The flowers of April,
The leaves of September.
The ballads of romance
Have set hearts a-sighing;
The ballads of murder
Have left eyes a-crying.
For "Thomas the Rhymer"
And "Undaunted Mary"
We sing of true lovers
With tunes bright and airy.
But for "The Two Sisters"
And likewise "Tom Dooley"
We sing slow and sadly
Of those who slew cruelly.
The plots of folk ballads
Show off all their paces;
We paint ourselves fairly
In both of our faces.
For humans are nothing
If not good and evil;
We are the green lacewing
And also the weevil.