Birdwatching Abecedarian – Stafford Challenge Day 28

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers space and voice

As the birds make their way back from their winter vacations, I find great peace in sitting on the front porch and counting the species using Merlin ID and recording my results in eBird. This information-gathering is not only fun, but it also helps scientists at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology track birds across the world when birdwatchers report their sightings. On Saturday morning, the weather was significantly warmer and the skies were overcast. It was the perfect morning for counting 28 species that appeared on the farm in a 90-minute observation. I was inspired to report the species in an Abecedarian list poem today, where each line beings with an ordered letter of the alphabet. 

Tufted Titmouse
Birdwatching Abecedarian

American Robin
Brown-Headed and White-Breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Flittering American Goldfinch
Goose (Canadian)
House Finch
Invasive Brown-Headed Cowbird
Jay, Blue
Kinglet, Golden-Crowned and Ruby-Crowned
Loud-mouthed Carolina Wren
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Obnoxious American Crow
Phoebe, Eastern
Quarreling Pine Warbler
Red-Winged Blackbird
Sparrow, Savannah
Tufted Titmouse
Up-too-late Dark-Eyed Junco
Very Hungry Chipping Sparrow
Woodpecker, Red-Bellied
Xenial Gray Catbird
Yellow-Rumped Warbler, "Butterbutt"
Zippy White-Throated Sparrow

September Poetry Marathon – Day 2 of 5

Today for the September Open Write, our host at http://www.ethicalela is Stacey Joy of California. You can read her prompt and her poem here and see the amazing Diamante form generator that will help you write your own Diamante poem. Today’s topic is food, but as I was reflecting on last night’s dinner, I chose Riesling as my topic.

Rhine grapes
light, refreshing
flavoring, fermenting, fulfilling
German white wine perfection
dinnering, relaxing, reading
citrusy, aromatic
Riesling

Continuing with Friday’s poetry marathon that I began sharing yesterday, here are some more poems from the 24 poems in 24 hours. I had other writers contributing as well. The first one was written by my stepson, who chose the word laughter to write an acrostic. I love his creativity and his random example of laughter right at the start!

1:00 pm hour – Andrew Johnson, Acrostic Poem – a poem in which the first letters of each line spell a word vertically, often defining or explaining the acrostic topic.

LAUGHTER

Little spontaneous

Alien pajamas

Universal expression

Good times had

Human experience

Topic of discussions

Emotion of healing

Right kind of feeling

2:00 pm hour – Shadorma – Kim Johnson – a Shadorma is a poem that has six lines with this syllable pattern: 3,5,3,3,7,5

Shaving Cream 

shaving cream!

not just for shaving

but also

for cleaning

when little fingers write words

into the lather 

3:00 pm hour – Abecedarian Poem by Boxer Moon – In an abecedarian poem, each line or stanza begins with the first letter of the alphabet and continues with letters in successive order, or the poet may take creative license and use the stitch-up feature that Boxer used, stitching the ends back to the beginning.  I think he created a whole new form – a Circular Abecedarian! He not only wrote it forward, but also back up from the bottom, starting with A and working back up to Z. The man shows his genius in this Halloween poem.

Photo by Pedro Figueras on Pexels.com

All alone, Zombie of Me

Before Dawn, Your life will be.

Crackling bones, Xanthic Demon!

Demonic Songs, Why have you Chosen Me- Dreaming?

Every Breath a stone, Vicious Song!

For Here my Creature roams, Ugly rightful wrongs!

Gleaming with blood, Tomorrow I’ll retrace.

His eyes yellow with crud, So fast-paced.

Inside no love, Retreating from my space.

Just as teeth chatter, Quietly, I leave my place.

Keynotes of feelings matter, Pathogen thoughts infected.

Leave, oh please leave,—- Rejected!

My heart punctured and deceived- Neglected!

Neglected- My punctured heart grieved- dejected!

Or rejected- Leave, oh please, leave in the latter

Pathogen thoughts, Keynotes of life do not matter.

Quietly, shhhhhh! Justify my chatter…

Running, Ruining, my face! Inside without love

So fast-paced, His eyes yellow stained with crud!

Tomorrow I’ll retrace, Gleaming with blood.

Ugly vicious wrong! For my creature roams

Vicious, ugly, song. Each breath a stone

Why must we repeat this Demonic song?

Xanthic Demon, Crackling bones!

Your life is mine, Be.

Zombie of me, A me of Zombie?

– Boxer Moon

4:00 pm hour – Kim Johnson – Limerick – – a humourous rhyming verse of three long lines, then two short lines, with a rhyme scheme of aabba.

Goofy Schnoodle

A schnoodle who sleeps upside down

Is a goofily-schnoozing nap hound

He contorts in my chair

Chasing rabbit dreams there

Ollie chases those hares ‘round and ‘round!

5:00 p.m. hour – – Kim Johnson – Decima- a ten line poem with 8 syllables in each line, having rhyme scheme of abbaaccddc

Monster and Robber Spray

we used to have a can of spray

when you were but a wee youngster

to rid bad robbers and monsters

to keep those things of fear at bay

and chase those horrid scares away

together we would fill the air

of Lysol-labeled love and care

you thought it did the magic trick

better than any billystick

come near us? No monster would dare!