By Kadden Kothmann

A song in a meadow,
A fleece without flaw,
A crisp morning sunshine,
The dew covers all.
Now as I remember
Our days of yore,
Per my song in this meadow,
I can’t take it anymore.

There once was a bluebird
Who marked its array,
Like all other bluebirds,
With anthem display.
But you left without word.
No time left to spend
With this lark in a meadow,
And so made us an end.

I swore I would find you,
Resume where we left.
But your beak did not warble,
To complete our duet.
So, as I lay feathers,
My mourning drags on.
In this tale of a meadow
Without your antiphon.

SO LIKE ANGELOU'S CAGED BIRD WHO SINGS,
I POURED MY HEART OUT IN A SONG, THIS POEM.

Antiphonal is the musical descriptor of an antiphon—a calling and responding scheme in Western liturgical song. It is best illustrated by hymns sung with a female chorus followed by a male-responding verse. Through this poem, I use antiphon in a more ecological sense, as the call and response sung by certain species of birds. A mentor of mine, Dr. Dale Rollins, has explained to me the love song between two quail, mainly involving a two-note rooster call and a female’s three-note antiphonal reply. Those duets may last for hours and can be joined by other female/male counterparts. The term refers mainly to courtship, but its not exclusive and includes the responses to stimulating communication for locating surrounding individuals. The poem above is my song: my call, without response, without antiphon. That is why it is “A Meadow without Antiphon.”

The song is opened by a lark, who sings of his happy surroundings: the morning in a meadow that he shares with an old friend. But he stirs at the memory of their abandoned relationship. In the second stanza, he introduces the fray between himself and his calling partner, who has “marked its array” or has stubbornly set its boundaries in the meadow. The physical separation curbs their interaction. The contrast in species gives the birds conflicting personalities, further emotionally separating the bluebird and lark. So when the bluebird leaves, he rejects the relationship and the meadow he shares with the lark. Upset, the lark concludes his song with an intent to resume the duet, only to find his companion gone. In anguish, he buries his friend, lamenting the “meadow without antiphon.” His last verse is my worst fear: to lose a loved one in a time when that person is too adamant to remain open to different opinions.

As I found and developed my identity these past few years, I have changed my attitude and opinions toward certain issues that I once neglected. Meeting new open minds has likewise shifted my paradigm, causing me to disagree with my old self and a particular family member, whom I care about deeply. When I was approached about those issues, my side of the argument suffered stubborn opposition. The closed-mindedness eventually became personal and began to sever us. The rejection kept me up at night, and I was living a personal nightmare. So like Angelou’s caged bird who sings, I poured my heart out in a song, this poem. I sang of two calling partners, two birds who were the greatest of friends. I sang of all the happy “days of yore” that we spent together. But the pain comes when I remember the rejection. When there is no antiphon, I then sing my worst fear. In the meantime, this poem is my metaphor. It sings that, regardless of my stance, I am willing to put aside differences to maintain a relationship. Similarly, the lark’s difference in species, or opinion, does not stop him from seeking to restore his old connection with the bluebird. If only the bluebird understood my conviction, it might better appreciate its bond shared with the lark.

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Results

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Figure 1. Figure Caption

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris et eros et tellus pretium egestas ac at lorem. Etiam quis mi non dolor aliquam faucibus. Integer ut nibh nec neque mattis faucibus. Pellentesque sed volutpat justo. Suspendisse ultricies erat ligula, et bibendum quam maximus a. Ut scelerisque orci ut velit vestibulum volutpat. Aenean a vestibulum magna.

Analysis

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Figure 2. Figure Caption

Discussion and Conclusion

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Mauris pellentesque ultricies felis, ac ultricies quam consectetur at. Donec blandit massa vitae efficitur feugiat. Sed sagittis urna nisl, quis semper arcu ultricies tincidunt. Donec in sapien mattis dui mattis ultricies a eget felis. Duis at massa suscipit, ultricies ipsum sed, bibendum ligula. Curabitur nec semper sapien. Sed ut velit nisl. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi non iaculis leo. In tempus, nunc a tempor ultricies, dui ligula aliquam ante, in posuere turpis massa quis massa. Nullam nec malesuada justo. Cras nisi nisl, luctus eget maximus sed, venenatis id ante.

Acknowledgments

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Author Name 'Class

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References

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3. EXAMPLE REF: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository. “Incidence of Malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Incidence of Malaria Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MLR.INCD.P3?locations=CD.

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