Thursday, September 28, 2017

Poetry Friday - Autumn WithThe Birds


        Poetry Friday is with Laura Purdie Salas today at Writing The World for Kids and she's sharing poetry from Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's new book: Read!ReadRead! Be sure to visit to get a little peek into this wonderful book and then click on all the other links to poetry posts!


O’ pumpkin pie, your time has come ’round again 
and I am autumnrifically happy! ~Terri Guillemets

        Nearly every month, Michelle H. Barnes has a guest who challenges us to write a specific poem. You can read about September's challenge from Carole Boston Weatherford here. My earlier poem was on Michelle's blog this week, a nice surprise, but I haven't stopped writing another. The abecedarian poems are challenging, but lots of fun, too! Thanks, Michelle and Carole!  

        Autumn's here, and birds are in the midst of settling or flying on to new digs. Here in Colorado, we've had a celebration of painted lady butterflies swooping everywhere, and we're still waiting for the snow geese who fly through on the way south. I love birds and try to spot what I can on nearby small lakes, hence this new poem!




Alphabetical Aves

           Amazing Birds, Cerulean-Dazed, Elegantly-Feathered, Geometrically-Hatched—
                  Ibis, Junco, Killdeer, Lark, Magpie, Nutcracker, Oriole, Pigeon, Quail—
                                  Random Selection Tallied Under Various Walkabouts--

                                                                Xylophonic Yammering Zealots!

                                                              Linda Baie (c) All Rights Reserved

photo credit: Bill Gracey 16 Million Views A Sky Full of Snow Geese via photopin (license)

49 comments:

michelle kogan said...

Wow Linda, and your poem takes the shape of a flock in flight,
I can feel them in the sky, the
"Xylophonic Yammering Zealots!"
I'll be watching in Chicago
Thanks!

Linda Mitchell said...

Pumpkin Pie! Oh, what a beautiful, beautiful thought. As soon as it's under 90 degrees here in VA I'm going to make one.
What a great idea for an abecedarian poem. You have an entire aviary that I would love to see. Thanks for the shout out about the aspen finds. It's fun to make and see all the connections on Poetry Friday.

Linda B said...

There must be wonderful fly bys coming through over Lake Michigan, Michelle. I hope you see many. Thanks!

Linda B said...

I did love your poems, Linda! The pumpkin pie quote is especially for my youngest granddaughter, who loves when this pie starts appearing in the stores!

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

Another beautiful abecedarian! Fabulous! It reminds me of Molly's list of mushroom names, and I wonder if there's an abecedarian there, too. :-) What fun words are.

jama said...

Love your clever abecedarian, Linda. Its shape is too cool :). I also love to watch birds; it's especially interesting to catch sight of migrators.

Robyn Hood Black said...

Brilliant, Linda - what a feat! And glad you are relishing in the flying fauna of fall out there. (Did not intend all that fruity alliteration, but there it is. Squawk.)

Carol Varsalona said...

And you got the X, Linda, all wrapped up into a succinct poem that I would like to share at my fall gallery.

Ramona said...

Love this view of our friends in the sky and your final line explodes with sound - perfect or our fine feathered friends! Happy bird-watching!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Brenda. Molly's post did make me think of all the wonderful names, might also be a great book of poetry!

Linda B said...

I don't see many, but do manage to glimpse the snow geese every year. Thank you, Jama!

Linda B said...

Oh, "flying fauna of fall" is just right, Robyn. Thank you!

Linda B said...

It will be good for the fall collection, Carol. I'm still reading through the summer one, so much beauty there! Thanks!

Linda B said...

Thanks, love more "f's" along with Robyn's! Fall friendly fashion!

Matt Forrest Esenwine said...

That last line is perfect! Great job, Linda.

Donna Smith said...

Argh! There was a glitch in blogville and I lost my comment! But the gist was: I love your bird abc...great use of all the letters in this one!

Penny Parker Klostermann said...

In keeping with Terri Guillemets's "autumnrifically" I say your poem is abecedarian-rifically, avian-ly amazing!

Kay said...

Wow! What a celebration of birds and wings and flight.

Tabatha said...

They are elegant in flight, aren't they? Even when they are yammering! Good job, Linda.
"Autumnrifically" is a fun word. I made a pumpkin pie cake this afternoon and it is hard not to keep going back to it!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Matt, it was fun to write!

Linda B said...

I have that happen sometimes-argh is right! Thanks, Donna!

Linda B said...

I'm glad you like that quote. I do love the word, too. Thanks, Penny!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Kay!

Linda B said...

Oh, I have a recipe for pumpkin bars. Maybe it's time to get the pumpkin spices out! Thanks, Tabatha. Your cake sounds yummy!

Anonymous said...

Another wondrous abecedarian winging its way through cyberspace. I love how the challenge has been met time-and-time again! A clever mix of description and classification.

Mary Lee said...

My abecedarian didn't happen for a variety of reasons, including being humbled by all the amazing ones that were written for the challenge. And look at you...still at it!!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Kat. It is fun to do the challenges!

Linda B said...

It seems to be because of all the birds busy with fall coming, I think. I had to write, Mary Lee. Thanks! I know you've been busy, and also know you would have written a wondrous one!

laurasalas said...

Ha! This works in so many ways. I love list poems anyhow, but the abecedarian and the humor aspects of it--and the shape--make it even stronger!

Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.ca said...

Cerulean! Oh, what a luscious word! I can't wait to work it into something, it's just so wonderful. As a fellow bird lover, this poem gives my spirit wings.

Linda B said...

Thanks, Laura, I did want to do a bit more than a list, but it was fun to choose the names I did find, and there are many!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Jane, that 'cerulean' describes our sky well, so I was very happy to find it!

Diane Mayr said...

I heard a bit of bird song this morning when I woke. It saddened me to think that'll probably be the last of it now that fall is here. Sparrows hiding in a bush on a sunny day will have to suffice.

Whispers from the Ridge said...

Love the shape, and I am in awe of how you worked these bird names in. You make it look easy! Well done!

Linda B said...

Ingrid and I were just talking about what we might hear in the winter. We'll still have those chickadees! Thanks, Diane!

Linda B said...

Thank you, Kiesha! It does take some research. . .

Carol Varsalona said...

I look forward to all of creations, Linda. I know that they will be filled with the beauty of an autumn day or night. Hint-the gallery is called Autumn Ablaze.

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Oh, wonderful! I like how this poem takes wing on a combination of informative bird names lifted by a thermal of playful adjectives, especially "cerulean-dazed". Your time stream seems deep, Linda, too!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Heidi. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem!

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Birds have been featured in a few of the abecedarian poems this month. Hope it doesn't go to their heads or those yammering zealots might become positively unruly! Two in one month, Linda— that's impressive! And I love the shape of your poem too.

Margaret Simon said...

I love birds, too. Your alphabetical listing creates an image of each in my mind. I especially remember walking to healing after back surgery with killdeer, such fascinating noisy birds that flitter along the ground, fitting the category of xylophonic yammering zealots.

Linda B said...

Thank you! Birds have been on my mind because of their migration and the title actually came before the rest, Michelle. I do like to meet the challenge of forms! It was a wonderful month of lovely poems from everyone!

Linda B said...

I love those killdeer too, Margaret, watched some babies in one place on a walk long ago, such a pleasure. Yes, noisy, and busy! Thanks!

Mrs. Wyman said...

I can't touch those aves, Linda. Great job! And you used my favorite color word -- CERULEAN! :-) -- Christie @ https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/

Carmela Martino said...

I'm SO impressed with this poem, Linda. We write abededarian stories in my children's writing camps, but none compare to yours.
And I, too, love the word CERULEAN--use it several times in my new novel. :-)

Linda B said...

Thanks, Christie. It is a beautiful word, I agree. I love sky words!

Linda B said...

Thanks, Carmela. It was a poem it seemed I had to do! And I do love 'cerulean' too, another sky word! Congratulations on your book!

Anonymous said...

Well-done, Linda! "Cerulean-Dazed" is exactly right. Thank you for sharing!

Linda B said...

You're welcome, Catherine.