Grounded Birds

If I could fly, 
I’d take to the sky,
And build my nest high,
But some birds won’t.

An owl I found,
That lives underground,
Perched on its mound,
Standing guard.

A killdeer will rest,
On its earth-built nest,
Its young it protects,
By feigning injury.

Funny feathered friends;
Eccentric avians;
Free to transcend,
My sense of practicality.

Subject prompted by Terri’s Sunday Stills: Fun with #Furred and #Feathered Friends.

Form prompted by Ronovan’s Ovi Poetry Challenge: FREEDOM is your inspiration.

Burrowing Owl
Nesting Killdeer

Leatherwing Beetle

Leatherwing beetle
Playing among beautiful pink yarrow
Swaying in the breeze
To nature’s rhythm
Feet beat on yarrow petals
Inadvertently tracking pollen 
While stirring up pests
For an afternoon snack.

Form prompted by Braden’s Layered Poetry: a New Form with an Example. “Each line begins the next one and completes the previous one. In this way, you can layer many scenes and meanings on top of one another in a flowing way.”

Subject prompted by W3 Prompt #59: Wea’ve Written Weekly’s poet of the week Lesley Scoble. “Write about the first wild creature that you see which inspires you on the day you write your poem (by wild creature I do not mean your spouse, etc.).”

I found the beetle while seeking a pink photo subject for Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: #Pink in the Great Outdoors.

Gifting Rainbows

Storms along the beach
Ominous skies winking blue
Gifting us rainbows

Prompted by Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge #466 and Lady Jabberwocky’s “Prompt of the Week: The Rainbow Connection”

Team Double Trouble

You and I generations apart;
Sharing music, motion and art.

Bringing out the child in me;
Teaching you resiliency.

We must appear quite the odd couple;
Tween and “older” team double trouble.

I dread the day our connection ends;
As your focus shifts toward your friends.

I only hope I’ll still be here;
When once again you’ll find me dear.

Prompted by dVerse Host Laura Bloomsbury: MTB: When ‘We’ writes poetry

Got My Goat

Used for my meat, milk, and fur;
Thousands of years domestication;
I’m now quite the entrepreneur;
Deserving of my elevation.

Vying for human-made kibble;
I embrace a rare opportunity;
You know how I love to nibble;
And they love my ingenuity.

You must gather I’m rather intelligent;
And an avid climber too;
My rudeness is irrelevant;
As I do what I must do.

So on the back of a cow I ride;
For the ample food that’s supplied.

W3 Prompt #58: Wea’ve Written Weekly’s poet of the week, Braden, prompts us to “Write: A) a sonnet, OR: B) a villanelle on the theme of: an animal, plant, or object,describing its qualities or what can be learned from it.”

I have chosen a Shakespearean (English) sonnet – three quatrains and a couplet with rhyming pattern abab cdcd efef gg.

Linking to RDP Tuesday! Goat! hosted by Martha.

Water Souls

Shhhh…

A moment of peace;
I take in the smell of the brackish water;
A little taste of mud and salt upon my lips.

I see you looking;
Eyes - shades of blue, green, brown, violet, and amber;
Contentedly rooted at the river’s shoreline.

Kindred water souls;
Born of purity and in seek of wisdom.
Taking some time to reflect upon the water.

Becoming fluid.
Here - acceptance flows along with the current,
And judgment swiftly vaporizes into mist.

Prompted by #TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 323, 6/6/2023 and Twiglet #328.

My photo of Water’s Soul
by Jaume Plensa. Newport, Jersey City.

Haiku:

Ubiquitous hush
As blue water laps the shore
Pure tranquility

Look To The Sky

All around is dirt and dust,
Crumbled buildings, rot and rust.
But high above dawns bright and new;
A blazing sun in a sky of blue.

All around is dark and dank;
Oppressive, stifling, spoiled, rank.
But in the sky the stars shine bright,
And the moon is in full glory tonight.

Reposting this poem and feature photo from 2021 in response to Weekend Sky #103 – June 3rd.

Abduction

She was squirreled away on a chartered boat;
Shepherded into his private cabin.
Tears spilling - makeup beginning to raccoon around her eyes;
She had earwigged his phone conversation and knew of his intentions.
Trying to outfox him;
She snaked her way out of the bathroom window;
But he was waiting, perched atop the deck.
Yanking her up, he bulldogged her to the yacht’s railing;
Badgering her for information she would not provide.
She swallowed hard to tamp down her fear,
And then hawked a wad of phlegm into his eyes.
Urgently fishing the knife from her pocket;
She parroted his threats back to him. 
Chickening out - he threw himself overboard;
Floundering to stay afloat in the undulating water. 
She beelined to the emergency raft;
Time for her to bug-out!

dVerse host Sarah prompts us to write a poem using animal verbs and/or animal verb phrases.

Happy Birthday, Brother

Birthday celebrations
Remiss from afar
Oh, how I wish 
To tease you in person
How old you now are... yet
Ever my beloved "little" brother
Rad to the bone.

Spring Critters

Tiger Beetle
Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
Dragonfly nymph shell