two Gambel's Quail bob
feathered heads on the fence rail
saunter toward spring
I recently had four haiku accepted by Dos Gatos Press for their new anthology, LIFTING THE SKY: Southwest Haiku and Haiga, so I've been thinking about haiku recently. It is a lovely little poem that captures a moment in nature. Traditionally in the US we teach school children that there are 5 syllables in the first and last line and 7 in the middle, making a 17 syllable poem.
I've been listening and watching our birds this week. They are all singing quite loudly looking for another bird to share their nest. The quail have been the noisiest. In Tucson we have Gambel's quail--lots of them. They are very similar to California quail, but they don't share the habitat. If you'd like to know more about this interesting bird, to see a video and hear the bird's call, go here.
Your poetry challenge for today is to write a haiku about something from nature you see today. You are welcome to leave your haiku in the comments. I'd love to read them. Have a fun day observing.
Congrats on your anthology acceptances, Joy! That's great :-) I like "saunter toward spring" -- that's a good way to describe the way they move.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tabatha,
DeleteNow I have to be a good girl and find some places to send more things out--preferably paying markets. Poetry is so hard.
Congratulations Joy-what a wonderful thing. I loved seeing those Gambel's Quail when I was in your area a few times. They do bob, and then bob some more!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda,
DeleteOur birds are out and singing their heads off. It is so much fun to watch them and to try to count all the members of the covey before they go scooting off.