HOMELESS IN SPRING

Homeless in Spring

The cardinal’s feathers contrasted
sharply with the hedge bush.
He flitted noisily nearby
until the buzzing hushed.

In disarray, the bush fell
to the daisy-dotted ground.
A hand reached to gather the limbs,
then stopped at a soft, cheeping sound.

A nest of twigs and twine–
home of featherless bird babies–
once secure in the fork of the limbs,
now lay scattered in the daisies.

The cheep–cheep of the birdies
could no longer be denied.
The big man picked them up,
and with no one looking, cried.

© Freeda Baker Nichols

“Thy fate is the common fate of all, into each life some rain must fall . . .” Quoting from “The Rainy Day” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882)

 

 

Haiku 1-7-2019

Rain came gently

Flowers bowed beneath it

Cool morning

Freeda Baker Nichols

Banner Mountain Birds

the color red
on winter morning
before the snow

© Freeda Baker Nichols

Weather Warning

 

Weather Warning

A redbird came to eat today,
flew by the tray
of fruit and grain
as drops of rain
began to plop and plop and plop.
When each big drop
became a splash,
I heard a crash
and looked to find the bird of red
with tufted head,
escaping claws
of cat’s wet paws.

© Freeda Baker Nichols

Another Lanterne

Snow

will fall

tomorrow

weather report

states.

© Freeda Baker Nichols

 

AND SO IT’S A QUATERN?

The Horses Graze

The horses graze on yonder hill.
The grass is thick and green and good
on such a day when wind is still
there in the pasture by the wood.
Nearby a spring where elks have stood,
the horses graze on yonder hill.
A picture posed like Hollywood,
they munch close to the daffodil.
They chomp until their stomachs fill
with grass and hay just as they should.
The horses graze on yonder hill
in that high-country neighborhood.
They are the kings of brotherhood.
They chomp in sync with cowbird’s trill,
a peaceful sound well-understood.
The horses graze on yonder hill.

© Freeda Baker Nichols

Note: The Quatern form seemed just right to go with my photo here. The ancient French form of four stanzas in iambic tetrameter, using only two rhymes was a bit of a challenge, due to the particular rhymes I chose. Set-up as follows: Abab bAba abAb babA .   Poets, try it. It’s fun!

 

 

What’s A Lanterne?

A Lanterne is a 5-line poem originating in Japan. The poem has a syllable count of 1,2,3,4,1. The words are centered on the line to create the shape of a Japanese lantern.

The
leaves fall
with the wind
and November
rain.

© Freeda Baker Nichols

Photo by Zhu Peng on Pexels.com

A BLUEBIRD IS . . . HAIKU

A bluebird
is a poem
unspoken

© Freeda Baker Nichols

THE SEARCH

The cat went searching for a mouse
to bring to house.
He climbed a gate
and stayed out late,
still looking for a mouse or rat.
Persistent cat
kept on his search
and found a perch
where birds were roosting for the night
but they took flight
before his eyes
to his surprise!

© Copyright, Freeda Baker Nichols

This is a Minute Form of Poetry

 

 

A Poem to Honor Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni (1888–1970)

In Rosa’s Honor
(a Dorsimbra)

As poet laureate, Rosa was great!
October 15th marked her special day.
She gave her time and talent to our state,
encouraged poetry along the way.

Her poems still
speak clearly
as year after year
we think of her.

We meet to keep the torch she lit aflame.
We watch it glow when our own fire is low.
We think of her and write our best because,
as poet laureate, Rosa was great!

by Freeda Baker Nichols
From the brochure for National Poetry Day in Arkansas, October 20th, 2012.

Each year, National Poetry Day is hosted by Poets Roundtable of Arkansas in honor of Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni. (1888–1970) Marinoni was named poet laureate of Arkansas by the Arkansas General Assembly on March 28, 1953, an appointment she held until her death.  Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in 1969, proclaimed October 15, the date on which Poetry Day is observed in Arkansas, to be Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni Day.

The upcoming Poetry Day is scheduled for October 13, 2018 at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in the Little Rock River Market area, 401 President Clinton Avenue.  Featured speaker will be Pat Durmon of Norfork, Arkansas. Pat is an accomplished poet and has just released her fourth poetry book–Women, Resilient Women.    ~~~