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Winter Birds: Metrical Verse

2/1/2018

10 Comments

 
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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.    
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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
Kathryn Apel link
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. :)

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Jane @ Raincity Librarian link
2/2/2018 12:29:39 pm

This is lovely! I often find such peace in watching the birds.

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Linda Mitchell link
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.

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Linda Baie link
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!

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Catherine link
2/3/2018 03:49:56 am

This is wonderful, Kiesha! I love that birdsong inspired you. Thank you for sharing Mary Oliver's wise words, and your own: "write from the heart."

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Kay Jernigan McGriff link
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.

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Myra from GatheringBooks link
2/4/2018 02:37:10 am

Such fearless vulnerability in those last few lines. So beautiful.

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Brenda link
2/4/2018 07:33:24 pm

I like your rhythm. I like knowing that our birds go somewhere where they are loved.

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Donna link
2/6/2018 04:15:37 am

Robin songs are my favorite! Thanks for your cheery post today!

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LifePoemsProject link
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

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    Welcome! 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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    2    Laura at Laura Shovan
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    16  Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
    23  Kat at Kathryn Apel
    30  Becky at Sloth Reads
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    6   Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
    13 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
    20 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
    27 Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections
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    3   Heidi at my juicy little universe
    10 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
    17 Denise at Dare to Care
    24 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
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    1   Catherine at Reading to the Core
    8   Irene at Live Your Poem
    15 Bridget at wee words for wee ones
    22 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup
    29 Linda at TeacherDance
    November
    5   Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
    12 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
    19 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
    26 Ruth at there is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
    December
    3   Michelle at Michelle Kogan
    10 Cathy at Merely Day by Day
    17 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
    24 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
    31 Carol at Carol's Corner

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