WHO IS LISTENING?

At the top
of the spires
of the ocotillo
where red flames grow
perches a phainopepla
emptying his throat.
His sweet song
drifts over the sage
brush for all to hear.
But if no one 
pauses to listen, 
is there a sound?

     I live a very quiet life at the end of a road on three acres.Sometimes when I go into town, to the mall to go shopping, it seems really noisy to me.  There are all sorts of buzzing, rings, voices, and sounds I don't normally hear.  I think about those birds and I wonder what voices the city folks hear.  What birds have you seen or heard today?  For your poetry challenge for today, can you try writing a poem about some sound you hear?  Have fun writing.

     Today I'll stop and listen to the sounds around me.

The Morning Rabbits

The coyotes loud howls
alto and tenor in the air
floating just in the morning light

A gibbous moon still hangs
and venus rising appears
as I start my walk

Always I like walking at morn
summer and winter in Tucson
the sagebrush in purple shadow
the saguaros in deep blue in the wash

So quiet, and the cholla
and ocotillo stretch, and
I see rabbits, a surprise
those quick moving cotton-tails.

I pause to turn
toward the vast sandy hill.
A rabbit stops, large dark eyes

Nary a blink, then
a twitching foot
to scratch an ear, then
a leaping run into the brush.

Like the desert itself
beautiful and fleeting
here one moment then changed--
gone.

Desert Ocotillo

Ocotillos bloom
in spires of red, hot pokers
your birthday candles
everywhere the flames burning
too quickly they are blown out


      This poem is a tanka.  I haven't written many tankas so I did have to go back to one of my form books to check that I had done the syllables correctly.  Tankas were made popular by Chinese courtesans who published books of tanka written to their sponsor.  Those books are some of the first poetry books published of poetry by women.  The tanka has 31 syllables, five lines long in a 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 pattern.  It is like a haiku 5-7-5, with two extra 7 syllable lines.  Also, these poems encouraged the use of reference to the lover or sponsor.

    Your challenge for today is to try writing your own tanka.  Have fun.

     And here is a thought, if you get stumped in writing.

"The poet doesn't invent.  He listens."    Jean Cocteau

EARLY SPRING

The weather is warm.
The air is dry.
The sky is blue
as the bluest sky.
Wild flowers bloom 
on every hill.
Birds are calling
their lovely trill.
Springtime is coming
what a glorious thrill.



     Today is beautiful and I'm happy and grateful.  What is making you happy today?  Can you write a poem about it? 
     Yesterday morning on my walk there was one bird sitting in the top of the ocotillo singing up a storm.  This morning when I walked past that ocotillo, there were two birds sitting there.  I guess the singing bird found someone to sing with him.  I think my own life is like that.  I have lots of friends around, but unless I open my mouth to sing and say, come join me, new friends don't know they are welcome to come and play.  Who can you sing out to today?

THE DESERT IS CALLING

Saguaros reach with arms in the air.
Paddles turn purple on the Prickly Pear.

Golden Barrels grow more golden spines 
and red flames on the Ocotillos look fine.

Morings are rosy, get out of bed.
Evenings come in a purple red.

In between the skies are a brilliant blue.
The desert is calling,
                           calling,
                                 calling 
                                       to you.


 What is it like where you live?  What changes do you see as the seasons change and the weather gets colder?  Can you write a poem about that today?

  As it starts to get colder here, we have more birds at the birdfeeder.  More snakes trying to keep warm in the road--bad idea, they get run over by cars.  And more creatures (scorpions and tarantulas) who think my warm house is the best place to be--wrong!  Snakes, and scorpions and tarantulas, oh my!
I hope you have a fun time reading and writing poetry today.

WEDNESDAY WALK

High in the ocotillo
sits a small hummingbird,
cheery, singing, tiny fellow,
he calls out this happy word--
              CHEEP


      The birds are definitely becoming more active.  Besides all our desert doves, I saw several phainopepla this morning and a hawk swooped to sit on top of the telephone pole.  All the small birds scattered.  While I was eating my lunch yesterday, I heard a roadrunner.  My cactus wren is being quite noisy, too.   What is your favorite bird?  Can you write a poem about birds? 

OCOTILLO

One hundred years of

Cacti growing

Over all

The state,

In this one

Little red flowers flame

Like sparklers

On the Fourth of July.

    Arizona was the 48th state to join the Union on February 14, 1912.  So obviously the ocotillo have been growing here for longer than that, but the 100 years is a reference to Arizona's centennial.  

    This ocotillo with it's torch red flowers grows next to a young saguaro.  Saguaro don't start to grow their "arms" until they are 50 to 75 years old.  Interesting to look at plants and realize that they have been on this planet far longer than I have.  It does make me think I need to do a better job of taking care of my planet.

    This particular ocotillo I see on my morning walk and for several mornings there has been a Costas hummingbird sitting on the same top branch watching me walk by.  Some mornings she chooses to talk to me and always I pause to enjoy the beauty and to say a few words to the bird.  It is a great way to start my day, having a conversation with  a hummingbird.

    If you could have a conversation with anyone you choose, who would it be?  Can you write a poem about that?  Have a great day on our planet.

Whiptail Lizard

The whiptail lizard is a fast paced lizard

and a very quick lizard is he.

He dashed past the ocotillo.

He raced by the barrel cactus

and ran up a Palo Verde tree.

     I've been playing with nursery rhymes again.  This poem uses several synonyms.
Can you find them?  Synonyms are words that mean the same thing.  So fast paced, dashed, raced, and ran all mean that the lizard moved very quickly.
    You can try writing a poem like this by picking an animal and then trying to load your poem with synonyms.

 The grizzly bear is a big old bear

and a huge old bear is he.

He ate a large fish,

swallowed lots of honey,

and got stung by a gigantic bee.

    Can you find the other words that mean big in this poem? 

   Now it is your turn to try it.  You might want to use a dictionary or a thesaurus.  Have fun. You're welcome to share your poem in the comments at the bottom of this page.  I'd love to see the animal you pick and the synonyms you use.