Hammer Symphony

My neighbor hammers
tap, TAP, tap.
He's hanging hooks
for Christmas lights
to his house eaves.

A Gila Woodpecker
pauses 
on the Mesquite tree,
filled with curiosity.

Together they make
a hammered symphony
tap, TAP, tap,
tap, TAP, tap.

   A Gila Woodpecker is a pretty bird with a checkered tuxedo coat and a small red beret for a hat.  They make holes in the Saguaros so other birds can make homes inside the cacti.   To make this music took two voices--my neighbor's hammer and the Gila Woodpecker. 
   Your poetry challenge for today is to write a poem about something that takes two (or more) to get it done.  In your poem let us know who they are and what each needs to do.  Have fun writing.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.  Roald Dahl

HAIKU

A Gila Woodpecker
sways and sips at the feeder
for the hummingbird

    Can you imagine a big, heavy woodpecker, swaying and dipping his long beak into the sweet water?  He is so much bigger than the tiny hummingbird, it almost seems unfair.  Like stealing food from a baby.  But my finches love it.  When the gila woodpecker flies off, they dart over and catch the drops on the bottom of the feeder that have splashed out in the swaying.  This is all part of the rich tapestry of life outside my office window.  What do you observe outside your window?  Can you write a poem about that?  Have fun observing.

haiku

gila woodpecker
on the feeder, hummingbird
awaits the quelling

     When the gila woodpecker sits on the hummingbird feeder, he is so heavy that it radically tilts the feeder and when the bird flies away it leaves the feeder swinging.  I saw two hummingbirds sitting in the mesquite tree watching the gila woodpecker at their feeder.   That happens to me sometimes too, I have to wait for the big guys before I can have my turn.  Have you ever had to wait before you get a turn?  Can you write a poem about that today?  Have fun writing.  

SUMMER 2014

Summer arrives
and it's HOT.
Leaves wilt,
Saguaro blossoms
last less than a day.

The doves, pigeons
and the quail
scope out swimming pools
to watch and drink.

The gila woodpecker
takes his fill
and the hummingbird feeder.

Lizards laze on walls
and even search for cracks
in the doors to catch
a cool breeze
from the air conditioning.


     It is 108 degrees today.  We're all counting the length of triple digit days.  This is a free verse poem that describes life in the desert.  Can you write your own poem about what the weather is like in your part of the world?  Do have fun writing.
    I've been having fun making poetry boxes this week.  I'll explain tomorrow.  I also read that tomorrow in National Doughnut Day, so I'd better work on a poem for that.  Yum!  I'm hungry just thinking about it.

GILA WOODPECKER

Drinking
from the feeder
a gila woodpecker
dips his beak and long tongue into
sweetness.


    The gila woodpeckers make it almost impossible for me to keep the hummingbird feeder full with liquid.  They have learned to perch on top of the feeder and tilt it to one side so all the sugar water tilts to one side making it easier for them to drink from a deeper well.  Lately, I've noticed that the finches and thrushes have learned to do the same thing from watching the wood pecker.  Except they tilt the feeder until liquid drips out the side and they can then drink it.   Why must the larger birds steal from smaller birds?  Why is it, it seems to me that the big guys are always trying to take advantage of smaller guys?
  Can you write your own poem about a big taking advantage of a little?  Would this be called bullying among the birds?  Have fun writing.  Oh, did you figure out that the form of this poem is a cinquain?  It is a syllablic form of five lines with two syllables in the first line, four in the second, six in the third, then 8 and finally two syllables in the last line.

haiku

Gila Woodpecker
screams from the Saguaro
new motel rises



    I was sitting outside writing, bemoaning the fact that there is construction going on across the canyon making lots of construction noise.  Trucks backing up and ding, ding, dinging.  Hammers pounding, cranes with diesel engines running and voices of men yelling directions at each other.  
   I was working on haiku, so I was trying to figure out a five syllable line for the construction noise and not having much luck when all of the sudden the Gila Woodpecker started screaming and I put the whole thing together.  I love how the last line works for the construction, but also for the living arrangements in the Saguaro.  Sometimes haiku works like that.  The poet is given a gift and it is our job to write the words down.
   Can you write your own haiku today?  Have fun and I hope you are gifted too.

WATCHING BIRDS

Thrasher, 
tanager,
finch,
Cactus wren,
warbler, 
Gambel's quail,
white-winged dove,
Gila woodpecker,
phainopepla,
even a vireo
all know
my bird feeder
is the place to go.

And two hawks circle
float in the sky
making those birds
flutter and fly.


    The birds are having a grand time in my backyard today.  I've counted 10 white winged doves sitting on the fence in a row.  The music is wonderful from the small song birds.  The Gila woodpecker is a pest.  She lives in one of the holes in the Saguaro and dines at my house.  I wouldn't mind, but she keeps trying to drink from my hummingbird feeder and with her long this beak, she does a great job of it.  If you were a bird, what kind would you be?  Can you write a persona poem today in the voice of a bird?  Have fun.

My Morning Walk

On my morning walk I saw:

   a gila woodpecker sitting on a tall saguaro,

   a dozen doves sitting on a telephone wire,

   two western cotton-tail rabbits,

   a covey of quail,

   lots of lizards,

   a piece of red quartz, 

   a roadrunner running,

   and, oops,

   a quick moving king snake.

      This is a very simple list poem of things I saw on my morning walk.  There are three lines that use alliteration.  That is where words have the same beginning sound.  I've also repeated the "qu" sound three times in this poem.  Can you find those?  Repetition of sounds helps to put more music into your poems. 
      My friend Ellen Johnston-Hale taught me that, "It isn't about the rabbits; it's de-tails."  There are details in almost every line of this poem.  Do you notice how I could have just said birds, rabbits, a rock, a snake?  But the details included in each line make the line more interesting.
     Why do you think I wrote oops, in the penultimate (next to last) line? 
     Can you write your own list poem about things you saw on your way to school today?  Remember to include lots of details and try to include at least one alliteration.  Have fun writing and please share your creation.