To my great surprise I am in the final fours of March Madness Poetry. I was in Florida for a few days this week, spending some time with my sister and visiting other relatives. My assigned word was ignominious, so I thought about what animals had an ignominious end. When my sister and I went to MacArthur Beach State Park, the leatherback turtles that nest there seemed to fit the bill. The poem was written yesterday in the airport and in the sky (and finished when I finally arrived home at midnight.) My match is with my pal, poetry critique partner, and uber-talented writer Renee LaTulippe. You can read our poems here. I will most definitely be happy to bow out to Renee this round–it will not be an ignominious end! This poetry competition has been fun and gotten me to write five poems that I otherwise would not have (hey, wasn’t otherwise my first word?) but I am tired! Two of the poems were written on the road, and the rest were written between some work-for-hire deadlines.
If you’ve read other poems that I’ve written for March Madness, you might think I have a predator obsession. You would be correct. Here’s a slightly revised version of my round 4 poem, where my assigned word was paunch:
How to Eat a Frog: A Snake’s Manual
Flick your tongue and taste the smells
of mucky snails and crayfish shells.
Weave your way through marshy grass,
past the lodge where Muskrat dwells.
Stare intently. Slide, explore…
Slow and stealthy, wait to score.
Watch each ripple in the pond,
glide along the swampy shore.
Lunge and grab! Your mouth’s agape,
an endless cave with no escape.
Inhale the head. Legs dangle out–
Muscle down that froggy shape.
Feel the bulging deep within,
a swollen paunch that stretches skin.
Enjoy your meal, your lump of blisssssss,
guaranteed to make you grin.
–Buffy Silverman, all rights reserved
Happy Poetry Friday! Jone has all this week’s poetry links at Check It Out.
Blissssful poem! Thanks for photo. Your poem painted the image. The photo was a bonus.
I do love that photo…I can imagine the froggy’s squeak that preceded it!
Exactly what Jama said!
Thanks Mary Lee. I have to say one of my favorite March Madness poems to date was your hawk (was it a cooper’s? ) wearing conservative browns.
“Endless cave with no escape” is wonderfully frightening. I love that you are writing in the air, on the ground, and in various states. Congratulations on getting to the finals!
Thank you, Karin, and thanks for stopping by! I think the key to writing for me is deadlines and no internet–traveling and this contest has given me both.
Dangling legs! COOL!!! 🙂
Whether or not you make it past this round, Buffy, you should be proud of your new poem menagerie. You done good, kid.
Thanks, Michelle!
I agree about that lump of blisssss, which is my new favorite thing to ask for at the butcher shop. 🙂 You have produced a bunch of excellent poems in the last three weeks, and that’s what we signed up to do. Mission accomplished! Mmm, dangly legs…
I would like to see that butcher’s reaction. Yes, five new poems to revise and polish is a worthwhile haul.
Wow! Congrats on making it to the Final Four! Love the snake poem — “lump of blissssss” is brilliant. 🙂
Thanks, Jama. Glad you like my ssssnake!