Turning

Despite the fact that my Summer Shorts project has come to an end, I’ve kept up with snapping a daily photo, and so far have managed to pair each photo with a bit of writing (“Fall Fragments”). No promises (to myself or anyone else) that this will continue so consistently. But somehow it’s a nice habit not to break.

“Turning” was the photo prompt for October 7th. Somehow all the squirrels dashing about in their hunt for winter stores caught my eye. And so a little tanka about the fall activity of these critters.

 

Path lined with chestnuts
prickly shells, shiny brown globes.
Squirrels everywhere.

They dash, climb, chase, leap, scurry.
Winter soon, better hurry!

*************

This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by 13 and the lovely and clever Irene Latham at Live Your Poem.

 

January sunrise

Sunrise – January 21, 2015 (Photo © V. Nesdoly)

Walk in day’s first light
to a wild chorus of birds
sky grows more intense
surroundings come alive as
we stroll under milkshake clouds

© 2015 by V. Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

**************
On clear days it’s so encouraging to see the sky begin to light up as early as 7:15. Spring is on the move!! This photo was taken on Wednesday, January  21st at 7:55 a.m..

We’re back into clouds and monsoons again now. But I console myself with how much longer the days will be when we next see early light under a clear sky. Our local weather lady said the days are getting longer by 2.5 minutes per day right now.

 

January day (for #poetryatworkday)

Shredder fodder – Photo © 2015 by V. Nesdoly

January day
ends in blizzard of white sheets
what keep? what throw out?
slips and papers piled in drifts
shredder working overtime

© 2015 by V. Nesdoly (All rights reserved)

**********

Someone has dubbed today “Poetry-at-work Day.” I’m good with that. In fact, every day is a good day to blend poetry with work in my books.

“January day” is the product of a new poetry practice I began last summer after being inspired by the tanka in a Dawson Creek park.

Mine are a cross between a journal entry and a poem in this five-line form. I call mine “tanka-type” poems because I usually title them (traditional tanka don’t have titles). This may be the first one of these I’ve posted here.

To bring poetry into my work every day my goal is to write one of these every day, although I don’t usually live up to that and am happy when a week yields two or three. I wrote today’s (a reflection on last night’s file-cleaning) this morning before I even realized it was Poetry-at-work Day.

To see more poetry at work, check out #poetryatworkday on Twitter. Find out about the origin of the day and download some goodies including a book written especially for it at Tweetspeak Poetry.

 

Dawson Trail Tanka (2)

As I mentioned in part 1, Dawson Trail, in Dawson Creek, B.C. is lined with granite boulders that have tanka engraved on them. These poems celebrate the seasons, flowers, birds, and critters of the area. If you missed part 1, it’s HERE.

One of the Dawson Trail tanka in its natural setting

 

Here are four more poems you’ll find on the Dawson Trail. If they leave you shivering, just know that winter is long in these northern parts. It’s no wonder the cold gets an extra poem or two.

Fawn, seen on one of our drives in the Dawson Creek area. (Mother and Fawn #1 were too quick for my camera.)

 

 

Dawson Trail in winter

*************

As I mentioned in the last tanka post, I don’t know who wrote these poems. Will give credit if/when I discover their author.

Poetry authored by Donna Kane, Marilyn Belak, Megan Kane, and Rebekah Rempel.  A big thanks to reader Donna Smith who unearthed this document with the information about the poetry stones and their authors (p. 17).

This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted this week by MsMac at Check It Out.

 

 

 

 

Dawson Trail Tanka (1)

Dawson Creek – Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway

We got back from our vacation in Dawson Creek, B.C. at the end of July. Dawson Creek is a town in northeast B.C. Near Alberta’s western boundary, it is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. Our daughter’s family moved there some months ago, and this was our second visit (the first was this winter/spring).

One of the things hubby and I like to do every day at home or on holiday is walk. Though I explored part of the Dawson Trail earlier in the snow, my broken hip brought an end to that. Now that I’m walking again and it’s summer, I was able to explore the full length of this trail that follows Dawson Creek’s meander through town.

Part of the trail is lined with granite boulders onto which poems have been engraved. I found eight of these. All the poems are tanka, celebrating the seasons, flowers, birds and critters of the area.

I’m posting four of these today and will do the next four in another post soon. I hope you enjoy this taste of the four seasons of northeast B.C.

Tanka stone on the Dawson Trail

 

 

 

*************

I wish I knew who wrote these delightful poems. If I find out, I will certainly give credit.

Poetry authored by Donna Kane, Marilyn Belak, Megan Kane, and Rebekah Rempel.  A big thanks to reader Donna Smith who unearthed this document  (p. 17) with the information about the poetry stones and their authors.

This post is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge.

Oops, change of plans. Robyn is injured and so that Poetry Friday doesn’t have to go missing, Irene Latham at Live Your Poem has taken up the slack. Thank you, Irene!