My year’s highlight and most significant achievement was my first time participating in National Poetry Writing Month in April. What a fantastic creative outlet that was. God willing, I intend to do it again next year.
And so to recap, and to express my gratitude to this art form I never knew was missing from my ordinary life, I wish to end the year by reposting a couple of my fave poems every Wednesday from now until the end of this blogging year. I hope you enjoy them.
On day 24 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt read as follows:
Today’s (optional) prompt is a fun one. Find a factual article about an animal. A Wikipedia article or something from National Geographic would do nicely – just make sure it repeats the name of the animal a lot. Now, go back through the text and replace the name of the animal with something else – it could be something very abstract, like “sadness” or “my heart,” or something more concrete, like “the streetlight outside my window that won’t stop blinking.” You should wind up with some very funny and even touching combinations, which you can then rearrange and edit into a poem.
Gosh, this one was a fun one on that day indeed. I found a great article
to poke fun at and here’s what resulted.
The act of snooping around could even be considered the adult version of Pokémon:
you have to go out into the world and explore different habitats as you try and
catch ‘em all.
Here’s how to get started.
Get yourself a pair of binoculars and a birding app on your phone.
It’s free and has tons of resources to get you in the know of how to
describe any feathered friends you spot.
(You know, in case someone spots you
with binoculars, and you need to explain your way out of there).
Snooping around is easy.
Start by learning to recognize the bone and feather structures
of different neighbors.
Observe everything.
the chorus of gaggle and song every month
make note of which are the first ones to begin;
the last ones to join, the last ones to stop.
Also, which way the indiscrete gophers would look upon exiting their burrows;
where the wind blew during each month,
and when every neighbor arrived and departed on their migratory routes.
Observe, too, their facial expression, especially lips.
With the bird app, you'll learn to associate offenders by their bird characteristics.
First-time offenders have curled beaks,
repeat offenders have beaks that look like cardinals.
While others disclose levels of involvement in their behavior:
Nuthatches walk along tree trunks, and towhees forage for food on the ground.
So perhaps now is a good time to go to your favorite local spot—
under a tree,
on a bench,
wherever there is green—
take out a pen,
and start recording what
you see, hear, and smell.
This will help you narrow down the lists of possible good catches.
Happy bird watching, happy snooping around.
＃NationalPoetryMonth
***
© 2021 selmamartin.com
Based on a factual article I link to below, I presented you with a funny, rearranged, crazy thing borne from “Take Up Birdwatching.” Enjoy.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Happy second Wednesday of December, and may the entire month be stress-free and joyous, full of gratitude and giving, and as always, I wish you miracles. xoxo, Selma.
Photo: Image by Oliver Kepka from Pixabay
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