 Welcome Poetry Friday friends! It's good to be back after taking a week off to enjoy my first deep breath of summer vacation. Thanks for stopping by! For more PF offerings, visit Buffy's Blog HERE. I decided to try something different this week. I had never written a haiku before, but I talked myself into giving it a try. I have to admit, I was really nervous. But after reading several beautifully written haikus by many of my Poetry Friday friends, I found the courage to branch out and take a chance. The result is my first haiku! I'm really glad I tried this form of Japanese poetry. It just goes to show, you never know until you try!  This is an image of the meadow here on the ridge. The wildflowers and weeds are lovely this time of year. I like taking photos of each one to identify it. This way, I can call them by name as I admire them. They have such interesting names you know! Here is the list of names I used to choose from for my haiku: queen Anne's lace meadow parsnip sand brazoria wood-sorrel green-wild Indigo wild parsley basil beebalm fleabane ironweed Invitation to Write:Sometimes it can be easy to talk yourself out of something before you even give it a try. But you never know until you try. I think this is great advice for writers. Taking a risk and writing outside of your preferred form or genre can be a little scary, but the end results can be quite rewarding. The important thing to remember is to keep writing!
12 Comments
6/2/2017 03:23:27 am
Good Morning Keisha! 6/2/2017 05:39:53 am
I love the haiku, Kiesha, and "burgeoning". Your meadow filled with those varying plants must be a joy to see here at the end of spring, beginning of summer. It's a good challenge to try something new, something like stepping off that diving board, right? Happy Friday!
Mary Lee
6/2/2017 06:07:19 am
Love the specific plant names, and BURGEONING. Here's a challenge for your next haiku (or for your next draft of this one) -- relax the 5-7-5 rule a bit and make it short-longer-short. You could totally take out the "the" in the last line! Happy haikuing! (I'm still learning, too!!)
Kiesha Shepard
6/2/2017 12:27:41 pm
Thanks for the advice Mary Lee! 6/2/2017 06:21:07 am
Love the haiku and the photo of the wildflowers. I love walking through the woods or meadows and admiring them, but I'm terrible at knowing what they are called. Maybe I should tackle learning a few names of wildflowers (or even the ones growing in my flower beds)? 6/2/2017 08:36:23 am
Good for you for trying something new, Kiesha! Love the specificity of your haiku--I can see your meadow. 6/2/2017 11:43:42 am
I love taking photos of flowers that I have never seen before. Your risk-taking paid off, Kiesha. I like the tips Mary Lee gave. I will remember them. Would you like to offer this poem (as is or revised) for my spring gallery? Please send it to my email when ready and to #Springsations on Twitter. 6/2/2017 12:31:55 pm
I love this! It's so important to push ourselves creatively, and to try new things, it helps get those creative juices flowing! 6/2/2017 02:51:52 pm
Great haiku! It's funny how we all lean in different directions when we write poetry. Great to step out of our comfort zone, for sure. Next try a tanka, by adding 7/7 to the 5/7/5! It's perfect for haikus that you just want to say a bit more! 6/2/2017 09:59:13 pm
Oh, Keisha, I love your haiku. A few years ago our vacant lot was covered in Queen Anne's lace... so beautiful, like a meadow in the heart of the city. I have some lovely pictures of it. This summer three homes are being built on that lot and I miss my private meadow. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWelcome! I'm Kiesha Shepard, and I have a love for writing and the teaching of writing. Whispers From the Ridge is a place where I can share my words and ideas for teaching writing. It's also a place for you to find inspiration for writing the words inside of you. I invite you into my world of writing as I capture the whispers from the ridge. 
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July
6 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect 13 Sylvia at Poetry for Children 20 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe 27 Catherine at Reading to the Core August 3 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading 10 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone 17 Christy at Wondering and Wandering 24 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche 31 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge September 7 Carol V. at Beyond LiteracyLink 14 Amy at The Poem Farm 21 Erin at The Water's Edge 28 Jone at Deowriter October 5 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference 12 Laura at Writing the World for Kids 19 Kimberly at Kimberly Hutmacher Writes 26 Kay at A Journey Through the Pages November 2 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup 9 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty 16 Linda B. at TeacherDance 23 Irene at Live Your Poem 30 Carol W. at Carol's Corner December 7 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass 14 Laura S. at Laura Shovan 21 Buffy at Buffy's Blog 28 Donna at Mainely Write 
April
1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
28 Kat at Kat's Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads
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