March Slice of Life No. 17
I had finished my
second coffee by
the time the sun rose
in flaming colors across
the southeast sky.
All morning I watched it
cast the long shadows of
our northwest winter.
In the afternoon I walked
to my daughter’s house.
Brown leaves, dry and
shriveled, blew across
grass turning green
from winter rain.
Robins, hundreds of
them, chirped and flew
from tree to ground,
hopping about in great joy,
kissing the ground
over and over with
their beaks,
then back again
to branches to soak
in the sun, to
chirp some more–
the brightness
of red breasts
a stark contrast
to shades of winter.
A squirrel sat very still
for a long time, holding
last summer’s walnut
in his paws, his bushy
tail arched upward,
the shape of a hook.
Then, in a wink, he
scampered across the
yard and up
our walnut tree.
I stayed a bit longer
standing very still,
leaning over our fence,
my face warmed by the sun,
wind blowing my hair,
and closed my eyes.
Now, the sun has
set, another day
has spent itself
and I say goodnight
with a peace filled
heart. I whisper,
“Thank you, God,
for Your love
has made it so.”
–Alice Nine
Writing about my writing.
I penned these words in my journal on a March evening a number of years ago. It was a quick write, line after line, without punctuation. Today, I added line breaks and some punctuation for a first draft of a free-verse poem. I chose the form a free-verse poem because I don’t want to craft sentences and paragraphs. Not yet.
Links to two of my St. Patrick’s Day posts:
Blessings and Limericks
Slicing, Laughing, and Blessing
___________
Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
Your free verse captures everything you noticed and wondered about, Alice. I do like it the way it is but perhaps you have another edit to make it richer or fuller.
Thoughts to free verse to (maybe, maybe not) paragraphs. Love the way that quickwrites free us up to notice the details without concern for form.
Great visuals. We just saw the first robin in our yard yesterday. Yay Spring!
THIS!!!! This is a perfect example of what I hope my students (and colleagues) will discover when they quick write and put pen to paper. Let your thoughts flow, discover what you are thinking AS you write. You can always go back and revise if you choose, but you have filled the canvas with pieces of yourself. This is beautiful. Thank you for this delicious slice!
Beautiful images! I love the line “kissing the ground over and over again with their beaks.” I live in the northeast and saw my first robin yesterday. I am hoping Spring decides to come to the party on time! Thanks for sharing.