Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Dear Ruby-Throat



Insistent drummer 
 wings flash
summer-speckled green,
beating
late summer,
late summer,
please linger,
  September-lover,
 all I have to give you 
is planted outside my window,
raucous red and vivid violet,
to get your attention,
so take and drink sweet nectar, 
sustenance for  flight
to another summer
a thousand miles away.

My heart skips
tiny hummer, 
tiny hummer,
when I recall
 the whisper 
of your beating wings,
late summer,
late summer,
my bread for the journey
 to next summer,
a thousand years away.


Thought for today - I love everything about late summer, even the bittersweet good-byes.


   The nature of my writing has changed . In the past,  free-lance work  kept me busy with  non-fiction and I am most comfortable in that mode.      
Recently, I have noticed that my muse is insisting on more  poetic forms.   I have no formal training in the art of writing poetry, but I'm willing to give it a try. The muse has spoken, so to speak.
  I've noticed many blogs where poets share prompts and poems with one another for feedback and support. I am a bit tentative about this, but would love to have feedback from folks who know what it's like when  every thought, every word, every emotion, every encounter twists and turns itself into some strange animal that begs to be a poem!
 This week, I am taking the plunge.  I used the prompt, which was to write s poem in the form of a letter or about a letter,  and now I'm  linking my poem to  Poetry Jam .   I am looking forward to reading the other poems on this site. 










23 comments:

  1. This is a beautiful letter to a beautiful little bird. I understand the wish for them to linger as long as possible; and I love that you write about giving them sustenance for their long flight to their summer 1000 miles away. A very touching poem. So glad you took the 'plunge' and participated in Poetry Jam!

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    1. Thanks for your welcome and your kind words about my little hummers and their poem.

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  2. i love it...the sounds...the repetition...smiles....there are somethings i dont mind lingering in...and i would not mind them either....i like your heart as well in providing for them...

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    1. Lingering in nature is so healing, in my opinion. Thank you for visiting.

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  3. I'm glad you decided to share--keep it up! I like your use of repetition. I, too, love summer.

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    1. Thanks for visiting! There is so much to write about in summer.

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  4. Very lovely. I adore the hummers too, who left us early this year - the entire season appears to be "off". But while they were here, they were enchanting. Loved your poem and the photo is wonderful.

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments and for visiting.

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  5. Barbara, come on in, the water's fine! And your poem is lovely :-) The smaller font repetition worked really well for me, felt like the little hummer wing/beats. I love hummers and all birds, nature. Look forward to reading more of your poetic words.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. You got my intention with the smaller font. That was the effect I was aiming for. And thanks for the welcome!

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  6. I am so glad you took the plunge. This is a wonderful poem--the images and the rhythm especially speak to me. I too have a background in non-fiction writing mostly. I was a feature writer for a newspaper and did freelance work. I came to poetry late but now I love it and it is my preferred form. Welcome.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words of welcome and warm comments about the poem. I sometimes feel like I only have so many words allotted to me in this life and once I use them up........., so I use them sparingly. Voila! Poetry.

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  7. Good morning from Italy, I am delighted you found my photography blog and decided to follow as I am now able to return the compliment. What a lovely photo and accompanying poem.

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    1. Thank you for your visit and kind words on my post. Love your photo blog!!

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  8. This is truly beautiful. The photograph is too. Describing the loss as some of nature moves on and much of the earth itself readies itself through Autumn to sleep for the Winter. I also love the repetition of the lines. The imagery in all of it is superb.
    Glad you decided to jump in and join in. You do get a lot of positive feedback, mostly without any pompous criticism.
    Good luck Barbara. :)

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    1. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments on my poem and warm welcome. I never am sure , when I use repetition, if it is too much.

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  9. Pisz wiersze, jeśli to lubisz. Nie zawsze mogę wszystko zrozumieć, bo tłumacz Google nie jest dobry, a szczególnie do poezji. Ale to nie ważne, bo są inni którzy to dobrze rozumieją. Teraz trochę zrozumiałam, pisałaś do kolibra. Pozdrawiam.
    Write poems, if you like. I can not always understand everything, because Google translator is not good, especially for poetry. But it does not matter, because there are others who have a good understanding. Now, a little understood, you wrote a hummingbird. Yours.

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    1. You are correct that google translation is not very good. I usually get the gist of what you said though. Poetry is always tough to translate even when it is done by the best translators. There are some Polish, Russian and German poets whom I love but I always wonder if I am getting what they really meant to say!! Thank you for visiting.

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  10. The repetition brought a drumbeat to the rhythm of the poem. I liked it, I liked it, a lot.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comments and your input Don!

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  11. please linger,
    September-lover,
    all I have to give you
    is planted outside my window,


    ...but it isn't enough. The little hummers must be free to leave and come back :) Poetry will grasp you and you will never be the same again :)

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  12. I love the way you captured the sound of his beating wings! So creative and lovely. I really enjoyed this beautiful "letter"!

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  13. ... 'to next summer, a thousand years away' I love how you used that line. I could hear those little wings, see those beautiful birds.

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