Natural Creatures

This month's 'Write Poetry' zoom had a link with the creatures in the natural world.  Sara-Jane introduced each exercise with a 'mentor' poem.  One about fish heaven, one about a fly on a battlefield and the third a series of poems that were words-as-animals-as-words.

The first exercise was to choose an animal, insect or other creature and write about what that creature would think was heaven for them.

Rapture

No more twilight barking
Full sun
Warm on the coats
Of dogs.

Bountiful balls
To chase and retrieve.
Spherical,
Unpunctured,
Countless.

A cacophony of barks, shouting
The same joyful tune.

More balls, abounding treats,
No shortage of flavoursome food.
Unending playtime.
Unceasing sniffs.

Rolling in the sticky mud, clogging
Fur and feet.
Running in the ripples
Of the ocean.
Digging in the sand
Snout covered, sniffing the detritus
Of dead fish and seaweed.
Back fur squirming into the malodourous heap.

No humans threatening a bath.

The second poem inspiration was to look at a human event through the eyes of a creature.

The Dove

Drifting over the Mount of Olives
The dove eyed the quiet of the Garden.
Gently alighting on a branch
The dove prepared to rest.
Hidden by the foliage.

The peace disturbed
Marching, shouting
Lamps aflame.
Swords rattling.

The dove marked the moment
The man was constrained.
Peace returned to the garden
As the rabble move on
Rushing the man to judgement.

Catcalls, whistles, shouts of derision
As the man stumbled through the masses
Carrying his own device of death.

Unnoticed
The dove attracted by the possibility
Of food, followed the masses
To the hill.
But frightened by unnatural darkness
The dove remained aloft
Soaring to find another rest.

Fragments of fractured wood
Pounded into dust and mixed
With myrrh, lovingly prepared
To preserve the body.
Carried carefully by women
To the burial ground.

On her olive branch
The dove spied the women
Coming nearer to her roost.
The cries of the women
Disturbed the bird.

The dove took flight
Soaring above the empty tomb.

And lastly we were asked to write a poem using words-as-animals-as-words.  To be honest, my poem doesn't really reflect the task.  To find out the inspiration for words-as-animals-as-words look for poems by Barbara Juster Esbensen from her collection 'Words With Wrinkled Knees'.

Why butter?

Why not flutter?
Flutterby, not

 

Bouncing, flitting
Flittingby.

Kissing, caressing
Dancing along the flowers
Tasting with their feet.

A proboscis ‘straw’ to slurp
The nectar, juice or sap.

Why butter?
The gossamer winged beauty’s
Excreta resembles butter!

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice