Friday, November 09, 2007

Poetry Friday - A Cento

I've been reading (for the umpteenth time) Walden: Or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. I just finished the chapter Winter Animals and was inspired by his words to write this cento.
Hills rose up around me
and in misty weather loomed
like fabulous creatures.

I could walk freely
far from the village street,
where I heard the forlorn but
melodious note,
quite familiar to me,
of a hooting owl.

At length the jays arrived
with discordant screams.
Then came the chickadees
in flocks, hammering away
with their bills.

And once a sparrow
alighted upon my shoulder.
For a moment,
I felt more distinguished
by that circumstance
than by any epaulet
I could have worn.
In the spirit of Andi's Poetry in Place endeavor, I'm going to hang this one in the gazebo on Westhampton Lake. I may even post a few along the path in the woods. As soon as I can get a picture or two, I'll post them here.

The round-up this week is at a wrung sponge. Please stop by and check out all the great poems posted. But wait! Before you go, be sure to read this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!

9 comments:

  1. Gazebos rock! I'll try to take pictures of mine, too.

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  2. Lovely cento! Anxious to see your photos of it in the gazebo.

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  3. Nice poem, Tricia!

    On Election Day, Jr. and I explored the hiking trails of a nearby Audubon center. The leaves have lingered longer than usual this year and we were surrounded by the golds and reds of the maples. Jr. announced that he was the guide and led the way through the woods, using a purloined cattail as a staff. It does not get better than this, I thought.

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  4. Gorgeous poem, Tricia!

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  5. What a gorgeous, evocative poem. Absolutely beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  6. Thanks to all for the compliments. I wish I could take credit, but all these words are Thoreau's. I just put them together in a different way.

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  7. Wonderful! I am so loving this. I can't wait to see your photos.

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  8. The last stanza is so beautiful -- I feel like I would be blessed by the presence of a bird choosing and trusting me like that as well.

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