Friday, April 17, 2020

Poetry Friday: National Poetry Month, Day 17

Particulars

There are bananaquits in the calabash tree.
I love saying these words,
which are so much better than:
There are birds in the tree.

There’s an American redstart
in the orange bougainvillea
is so much better than:
There’s a bird in the flowers.

There’s a Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo
in the ficus
is so much better than:
Hey! Look at that huge bird with the stripy tail
regarding me through the leaves!
(Although even that is better than:
There’s a bird in the tree.)

Remember the day you first heard my voice?
How the professor asked me to read a poem
and you listened?
How I became, to you,
more than one of those
vaguely literary English major girls
in American Lit class
and turned into
me?

And somehow all those years
brought me to this particular chair
in this particular yard
on this particular island
watching these particular birds
in the time of Coronavirus.

Me, not anyone else,
watching those feathery individuals
through the binoculars you bought me,
living this one
sunny,
beautiful,
ominous day.

Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

The "you" in the poem is my husband, who puts on his mask and goes out to face the world for us, which is to say, goes grocery shopping. Since I read that today is Haiku Poetry Day, here's a haiku about some of the spoils he brought back last time.


Heidi has today's lines for the Progressive Poem.

1 Donna Smith at Mainly Write
2 Irene Latham at Live Your Poem
3 Jone MacCulloch, deowriter
4
Liz Steinglass
5
Buffy Silverman
6 Kay McGriff at kaymcgriff
7 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
8 Tara Smith at Going to Walden
9 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10 Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme
11 Janet Fagel, hosted at Reflections on the Teche
12 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
13 Kat Apel at Kat’s Whiskers
14 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
15 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
16 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
17 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
18 Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading
19 Tabatha at Opposite of Indifference
20 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
21 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
22 Julieanne Harmatz at To Read, To Write, To Be
23 Ruth at thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
24 Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering
25 Amy at The Poem Farm
26 Dani Burtsfield at Doing the Work That Matters
27 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
28 Jessica Big at TBD
29 Fran Haley at lit bits and pieces
30 Michelle Kogan at moreart4all


Molly Hogan has today's roundup.


19 comments:

Irene Latham said...

Dear Ruth, you had me at bananaquits. I love this poem so much! The specificity, the emotion it generates, the questions, the (ominous) ending... really wonderful. Thank you. xo

jama said...

Yes to those wonderful specific details! Your haiku has my mouth watering. Who'd have thought grocery shopping would be so risky?

Linda Mitchell said...

Ruth, this is wonderful! Your poem is about growth and becoming who we're meant to be. I love it.

Janice Scully said...

Your poem is such a love poem, to me. And those strawberries look like they were worth the risk of going out, safely of course.

Buffy Silverman said...

And now I want to see some bananaquits in a calabash tree. Thanks for the tasty words and journeys in both poems.

Linda B said...

Those little and fascinating to you details make the world go round, and this time for you and your love for your husband. As I read, I kept thinking about that Louie Armstrong song "What A Wonderful World", Ruth. Thanks for the 'sweet' haiku also. I'm glad you all are okay, even going to the store. I am fortunate that my daughter is going for me. Have a nice weekend looking for more birds in a tree.

Molly Hogan said...

I love the specificity of the language in your poem and how it translates into the specificity of your own love story.

Liz Steinglass said...

Oh my, this is gorgeous. I love the beginning with the birds and the trees, but then the turn to your husband and your life. Stunning.

Anonymous said...

Your husband is a lucky man! Love the love poem!

Mary Lee said...

Lovely and love-filled. Life is nothing without the specifics. Love is nothing without risking our lives for each others (and strawberries)!!

laurasalas said...

This is breathtaking. The voice and personal touch...just stunning. Thanks, Ruth.

Kay said...

I love that some of your birds populate this poem, and then the turn to a love poem at the
end is wonderful.

Sally Murphy said...

I love this. it is a homage to words, to birds, to watching and, of course, to your husband. Fabulous!

Joyce Ray said...

Ruth, Your poem is beautiful and personal. I love the word sounds in your tropical flora and fauna. "bananaquits in the calabash tree" is so much more melodious than "finch in the birch tree!" Your haiku pays sweet tribute to the supermarket finds that make our days.

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

First, I read your poem, Ruth. I loved it so I reread it. Then I googled bananaquit. Then I re-reread your poem. Then I googled Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo. Then I read your poem one more time. Now I think I am satisfied, but I'm bookmarking the page just in case. Thank you. :)

Jone said...

I love the words in this poem. So fun to read. and reread. Those strawberries. Worth the risk.

Carol Varsalona said...

As I was reading the poem, I knew you were talking about your husband. I love the flow of this poem and topped it off with your sweet haiku. My husband also does the shopping so I think I will read him what you wrote and thank him for what he does. Stay safe, Ruth.

Michelle Kogan said...

How I love your poem Ruth… The calabash tree seems magical, those large bulbous fruits pulling down around the tree, and the bananaquit is gorgeous with it's striking yellow marks over the eyes and curving beak. But then you gave us more… your Hispaniolan lizard cuckoo takes my breath away. Thanks for sharing all these treasures, and this piece of you and your loving relationship with your husband–delicious berries too!

Kimberly Hutmacher said...

Though you're so far away, Ruth, your poem makes me feel like I'm sitting in the yard with you, seeing and hearing all that surrounds you. It's a beautiful picture.