Happy Poetry Friday! Thanks for joining me this week. Donna is hosting our first round-up for February at her space mainelywrite.blogspot.com/.
This time of year, I love to walk into the woods and hear the joyful noise of winter birds. Their chatter and songs in unison, are music to my ears! I especially enjoy the whistling notes and repeated syllables of the Robins. If you listen closely, it almost sounds like, "cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up!" I wondered if I could write a poem in metrical verse that created a rhythmic pattern that sounded very much like the repetitive tunes of the Robins. It was certainly worth a shot, and I had a lot of fun trying it out! The result is the poem I am sharing today, written in tetrameter couplets (for the most part I think)! I love that poems offer us so much grace to try new things. 
Invitation to Write:
One of the wonderful things about poetry is the freedom and space it invites us to explore with. I like to study and learn about the different technical elements of poetry. Learning the craft of writing poems is an important task, but sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in the technicalities. That's when I remember the words of Mary Oliver, "Poems must, of course, be written in emotional freedom." So whenever you feel yourself getting wrapped up in formalities, take back your freedom, and write from your heart.
10 Comments
2/2/2018 03:52:20 am
That last line of your Invitation is so beautiful! And true. I love writing to forms; the challenge - and the way it sometimes turns me inside out when writing... And there is value in it! But you are so right; it's all about the passion and the heart. And the 'rules' should never stifle that! Rules are made to be broken - in poetry, at least. :) 2/2/2018 12:29:39 pm
This is lovely! I often find such peace in watching the birds. 2/2/2018 03:56:38 pm
The beat of this is really fun. I like it. And, like Kat said, the ending line is really lovely. Well, done. It's funny, the more I practice poetry, the more I like form and meter. I may have to use this as a mentor poem. 2/2/2018 09:14:49 pm
Nothing more inspiring than being out in nature, loving the bird song. This is lovely, Kiesha & those Mary Oliver words are like an open door! Thanks! 2/3/2018 07:39:47 am
This poem is so musical--it does sound like birds singing! I don't usually write in rhyme and rhythm, but I've had fun trying out some anyway this past week. 2/4/2018 02:37:10 am
Such fearless vulnerability in those last few lines. So beautiful. 4/8/2018 06:41:05 pm
Your poem affected life?! Yes, you can share your lovely poem and its great "after story" with the world... Submit now on LifePoemsProject.com 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. 
Follow by Email
Archives
May 2019
Categories
All
Click to learn about Poetry Friday!
Schedule of Round Up:
January 4 Sylvia at Poetry for Children 11 Kat at Kathryn Apel 18 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect 25 Tara at Going to Walden February 1 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference 8 Laura at Writing the World for Kids 15 Jone at Check it Out 22 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge March 1 Linda at TeacherDance 8 Catherine at Reading to the Core 15 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe 22 Rebecca at Sloth Reads 29 Carol at Carol's Corner April 5 Karen at Karen Edmisten* 12 Irene at Live Your Poem 19 Amy at The Poem Farm 26 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink May 3 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup 10 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass 17 Michelle at Michelle Kogan 24 Dani at Doing the Work That Matters 31 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading June 7 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche 14 Laura at Laura Shovan 21 Linda at A Word Edgewise 28 Buffy at Buffy's Blog |
RSS Feed
Photos used under Creative Commons from Kristine Paulus, Ryan Hodnett, Marie Hale, gurdonark, btrentler, Kelly Colgan Azar, jeffreyw, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region
