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May 21, 2026
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Call of the Loon
Listen to the call of the loon in the wild, at dusk, near a calm body of water on a quiet, warm evening. Upon your first time hearing it, the call of the loon captures your attention and then lingers in your mind. The tones harken to you, a lonely voice begging to be heard once more.
Pinpointing the precise direction from which it comes can be difficult because the call of the loon permeates the air and seems to echo all about. Emanating from the still water upon which they live, the call of the loon is amplified by surface tension creating powerful, reverberating acoustic sounds that filters among the trees haunting pristine woodland.
My first time hearing the call of the loon came in the gravely quiet, dead of night. While tenting in Maine, the campsite I occupied along Moosehead Lake was surrounded by woods with only a dirt road access. Any sound at all was easily, distinctly heard in this – nature’s amphitheater. The was the crackling, popping sound of pine sap snapping in the campfire, and the whooshing hush that occurred when it was doused with water. The rustling of tree branches from the wind turned to a light breeze that settled down to hushed whispers after sunset.
Then came the call of the loon. It played out in the way of hollow-sounding notes emanating from some weird, Lovecraftian woodwind instrument; the call percolating in a calm, macabre, haunting way.
The call of the loon echoed.
It echoed.
— dosdourian.bob, May 21, 2026
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About This Poem
Review Request Direction: How does this theme appeal to you?
Review Request Intensity: I appreciate moderate constructive criticism
Editing Stage: Not actively editing
Critiques
neopoet
2 weeks 1 day ago
Neopoet AI (premium) [2025-04]
The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:
The poem presents a vivid, atmospheric meditation on the experience of hearing a loon’s call in the wild, blending personal narrative with natural description. The prose-poem format allows for detailed imagery, but the piece could benefit from greater concision and attention to poetic devices.
Imagery and Sensory Detail: The poem’s strength lies in its sensory descriptions—“gravely quiet, dead of night,” “crackling, popping sound of pine sap,” and “whooshing hush” evoke the campsite’s ambiance effectively. The depiction of the loon’s call as “hollow-sounding notes emanating from some weird, Lovecraftian woodwind instrument” is especially evocative, providing both aural and emotional resonance.
Structure and Form: The poem is structured as a series of prose paragraphs, which allows for narrative development but lessens the impact of individual images and lines. The repeated phrase “The call of the loon echoed. / It echoed.” at the end gestures toward lyricism and could be more effective if the rest of the poem employed similar lineation or rhythmic attention.
Language and Diction: The language is generally clear, though at times it becomes redundant (“the call of the loon” is repeated frequently, sometimes within the same paragraph). Consider varying the phrasing or using pronouns or metaphors to avoid repetition. Some sentences are wordy or awkwardly constructed, such as “The was the crackling, popping sound of pine sap snapping in the campfire,” which appears to have a typographical error (“The was the…”).
Poetic Devices: While there are moments of metaphor and simile (e.g., “nature’s amphitheater,” “Lovecraftian woodwind instrument”), the poem relies heavily on literal description. Incorporating more figurative language, varied sentence structure, and attention to sound (alliteration, assonance, etc.) could heighten the poetic effect.
Suggestions for Revision: - Experiment with breaking the prose into shorter lines or stanzas to emphasize imagery and rhythm. - Reduce repetition of key phrases and vary sentence openings. - Refine language for concision and clarity, eliminating unnecessary words. - Introduce more figurative language to deepen the emotional impact. - Proofread for typographical errors and awkward phrasing.
Overall, the piece effectively conveys the haunting and memorable quality of the loon’s call, but it would benefit from greater attention to poetic form and language to fully realize its potential.
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Michael Anthony
2 weeks 1 day ago
Lovely imagery, well…
Lovely imagery, well presented - enjoyed!