Welcome to Poetry Friday!

I’m happy to host Poetry Friday today. Mr. Linky is gathering the links at the end of this post–please add yours, and follow the links to other Poetry Friday blogs.

I’ve been enjoying spring’s progress and noticing the changes around me. This week I’ve watched dragonflies and damselflies mating by the lake, a new fawn hiding in tall grass, turtles leaving the pond to lay their eggs, and fireflies flashing in the evening. Not to mention hearing bird song from dawn to dusk and the pitter patter of gypsy moth caterpillar poop raining from the trees… It’s a busy time of year!

Last month I spent time photographing new tree leaves, and was fascinated by their pale greens and reds. Apparently (according to this article) the red pigment might make growing leaves less noticeable and less palatable to insects that munch on them. Or it might make leaf munchers more noticeable to their predators. The tiny red oak leaves in my yard inspired this poem:

Rainbow-colored Springtime

Red time
Green time
tiny on a tree time

Grow time
Boom time
pink and purple bloom time

Sip time
Sweet time
fuzzy yellow buzz time

Blue time
White time
drifting in the sky time

Flit time
Flap time
feathered orange black time

Climb time
Swing time
rainbow-colored springtime!
–©Buffy Silverman

I hope you are enjoying our almost-summer leafy green days! Please leave your links below:



32 thoughts on “Welcome to Poetry Friday!

    1. If it’s an “official” form, I don’t know about it–just a pattern that popped into my head and I extended it. I’m sure I’ve read other poems that repeat an end word, though. Take a look at Kim Norman’s Give Me Back My Bones if you want to see this done masterfully!

      1. Thank you, Buffy. it just feels like a fun, bouncy pattern i’ve seen in other poems and that is why i thought it was a form. It’s very uplifting.

  1. Buffy, I love your poetic rainbow of spring celebrations. I’ve been enjoying the sights as well. What a wonderful time of year this is! I wasn’t able to pull together a post this week, but thanks for hosting!

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  2. Next January when I am longing for the rainbow of spring, I will come back to this post and savor every line of your lovely poem. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for hosting today, Buffy!

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  3. Buffy, Thank you for hosting this week! I love your nature-inspired photos and especially, these lines: “Flit time
    Flap time
    feathered orange black time”

    We’ve had an oriole pecking at our window this spring and I love to watch their bright colors! You captured it perfectly! Thanks, again!

    Carol

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  4. Well, we can pretend it’s still Spring according to the calendar, but here it is now full-on summer and that’s okay with me! We’ll have our 20th Annual Summer Solstice Picnic on Sunday and I wish people would hold still long enough to listen to me read this very satisfying poem, including the 5th stanza. Do you know the newish book SUMMER FEET by Sheree Fitch? It’s a partner poem! Thanks for hosting.

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  5. Thank you for hosting today!

    I love your poem so much. The rhythm just draws you in and bounces along – and I love the playful language and how you’ve used colors to describe the birds and insects. You’ve captured all the joy of spring in this :-).

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  6. Buffy, You capture the beauty of the season so well! And, I’m a big fan of the rhythm. I have a picture book manuscript/poem that uses something quite similar, but it is about capturing the rhythms and routines of a child’s day.
    Thanks for hosting today!

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  7. Happy spring, Buffy! Thank you for hosting and sharing your poetry/photography/natural world expertise!
    “the pitter patter of gypsy moth caterpillar poop raining from the trees” – who knew? Or who poo? 🙂

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  8. Buffy,
    Fun poem
    Beat poem
    Sweetly sing of hues poem!

    Thank you! Your rhythm has been inspiring me for weeks now. The photos and colors are beautiful in your poem and in the photos.

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  9. I always love the pictures you share, Buffy, and these with what I think of as a “buzzy” poem are marvelous.You make it hard to resist the “rainbow-colored springtime”. It is a wonder-filled time of our year. Thanks for hosting!

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  10. Love your poem — so lyrical and uplifting. And what gorgeous photos! Thanks for the celebration of living things and for hosting this week.

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  11. What a great poem! The repetition and colors to visualize are great. And, I love all the things you list as wonderful in spring including the pitter patter of droppings. It IS all wonderful to see the world come alive in spring. Thank you for hosting this week. You make me want to dig out the “real” camera and get outside.

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  12. very nice poem, but I think there is a beat missing in the last line of fifth stanza. I like the construction however.

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  13. Buffy — your photography is always so gorgeous but that bee in flight really took my breath away today! I love the line “fuzzy yellow buzz time.” Thanks for hosting today.

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  14. I love the repetition in your poem and the rhyme and colors you weave through this one. Fascinating how certain leaf pigments can function in ways we don’t usually consider.

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  15. What a fun and colorful leafy poem Buffy, and interesting to learn about the pros and cons that these red leaves have to offer other critters! I love hearing about all the wildlife your surrounded by. Thanks for hosting the roundup!

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  16. Buffy the connection between words and images across seasonal changes is a strong one. I noted the pattern you set up in your poem created a consistent rhythm for each stanza. The final line makes a strong ending. Ironically, I too am writing about seasonal observations- be it a quite different time in the southern hemisphere. Thank you for hosting.

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  17. Buffy, I knew your post would be full of beautiful nature sights. The poem you created is lovely and I shall read it aloud to my granddaughter and share your photos. I loved the way you let colors pop throughout the poem. There is a wonderful rhythm to your poem and the repetition of the word time will connect a little reader to the poem as well as adults. Thank you for hosting today.

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