A Song of Color In a Doldrum World

A scarlet blur

of stillness

upon a monochrome maze

of branches

from the bare trees skirting the meadow.

The song of color

in a doldrum world

waiting for the meadow

to join him again

in vibrancy

of new life and color

of the ever-nearing Spring.

Today I went on a hike with a dear friend as snowflakes were falling all around. In the woods, the red beauty of the cardinal stood out against the white, gray and brown backdrop of the trees and meadow. The male cardinal proudly displayed his colors as a mark of vibrant life in the meadow during the winter months. It was wonderful to just pause and take in his beauty for a moment or two.

I had heard about a type of poetry called Ekphrastic. It is based off of a work of art. I knew I wanted to write about the photo of the cardinal I had taken today so I figured I would give this form a try. In this type of poem, you are supposed to describe a part of the work of art and then extend your own thoughts into its underlying story. You use your power of observation to find the hidden stories in the work of art. I enjoyed the process of writing this poem and finding a hidden story in my photo.

If you would like to more about Ekphrastic poems, visit this site: https://poetryteatime.com/blog/ekphrastic-poetry

Modern Day Pterodactyl

Long, thin feathered fear

Wings outstretched gliding downwards

Will it land on me????

Yes, the other day I was attacked by a modern day pterodactyl!  At least that is what it felt like to me as I was tucked into a ball with my heart pounding trying to escape my chest. 

I was hiking at Fillmore Glen State Park on a lovely cool end of summer day. The Gorge Trail was beautiful and relaxing until…..

in my peripheral vision, I saw something large. I turned to my right and noticed the Great Blue Heron gliding near me. It’s size was impressive. I called out to my husband so he could catch it in its flying glory. Then all of sudden the heron turned towards me and started descending. There was nowhere for this bird to land. The gorge wall was right behind me. My fear of birds erupted through my whole being- WAS IT GOING TO LAND ON ME?????

I turned to go back up the trail but that meant I had to cross a shaky bridge (another one of my fears) and that was NOT going to happen. So I covered my head and bent down. I was just waiting for the heron to crash into me. The next thing I heard was laughter. Yes, laughter!  I looked up to see the heron had turned and was flapping away in the opposite direction- up river and my husband was loudly laughing at my fear induced reactions. Once I realized I was safe, I started laughing too. 

But I will never forget the day I was attacked by the heron or my new name for it the Modern Day Pterodactyl!

(There are no photos of this actual heron as my husband tried to get his camera but was laughing too hard to get it before it flew away. Also, he states that the bridge was very stable- I do not agree!)

Poetry form- Haiku

Photo- this is a heron in flight at a different location- Pymatuning State Park in PA

Spring Serenade

 Left, right, left

Crunch, crunch, crunch

Cheer-a-lee, cheer-a-lee

Chirp-chirp-chirp

HONK, HONK, HONK. HONK

Cheer-a-lee, cheer-a-lee

Tseer, tseer, tseer

Kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik

H-O-N-K

Kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik

Tee—seep, tee—seep, tee————seep

Chirp-chirp-chirp

Crunch, crunch, crunch

Left, right, left

On this glorious Spring afternoon, I went for a walk on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal Trail near Waterloo, New York.

The trails are no longer quiet in Upstate New York. The birds have returned and were very chatty today.

As I walked along noticing the crunchy rhythm of my steps, it felt like I was the consistent drum beat to a composition being created by the birds. 

The high quick tweets of small birds floated over the low loud incessant honks of the Canadian geese. The tap, tap, tapping of a drilling woodpecker syncopated the longer drawn out songs of others.

My walk along this trail was filled by nature’s music. As I neared the parking lot, all that could be heard was crunch, crunch, crunch.

The birds SANG!

My eyes pry open-

as I groggily adjust

to the senses of a new day.

A forgotten sound fills my ears-

the tweeting and chirping of birds

welcoming the dawn.

A smile spreads,

joy blossoms in my soul,

winter is nearing an end.

The birds sing the 

hope of spring.

Oh what a glorious alarm! I don’t remember the last time I opened my eyes to the day and had this sweet sound fill my ears. It has been months- those cold winter months in Upstate New York. These tweets bring hope of Spring and they began my day with JOY!