Tag Archives: earth

NaPoWriMo 2022 Our Lady of the Garden

Image

Reply
Hummingbird right: Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar/flickr/CC.

Today’s prompt was based on the aisling, a poetic form that developed in Ireland. An aisling recounts a dream or vision featuring a woman who represents the land or country on/in which the poet lives, and who speaks to the poet about it.

Today’s challenge was to write a poem that recounts a dream or vision, and in which a woman appears who represents or reflects the area in which I live.

We shall see how this goes today. We shall see what form my dream-visitor takes.

Happy reading!

Our Lady of the Garden

In the garden
a tiny, perfect 
bird landed
on my shoulder.

Jewel-toned
and stunning,
the bird 
morphed into a 
beautiful woman
right before 
my eyes.

The trumpet vines
flashing brilliant
orange flowers 
shone in the sun 
like a halo
around her head.

My angel with 
her flaming crown,
and delicate hands,
she felt
born of spirit,
born of dream.

Sing, she told me
Sing of the Universe.
Sing of the beauty
of the earth.

In my dream-state 
I sing her song. 

I see in her
the land and sky;
she connects me 
to water and earth.
The waves roll
in her laughter;
the plants flourish
under her hands.

From my heart
I sing of us.

We become
a tapestry,
woven together—
garden and bird,
woman and earth.

When I wake,
it is daylight.
I look out 
my window
and see
a hummingbird—
wings whirling
without resting—
sipping nectar 
from flaming goblets 
shaped like 
trumpet flowers.

—cjpjordan




I Reckon The End Will Come

Posted on by
Reply

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

A poem for the earth…

I Reckon The End Will Come

I reckon that the end will come
one summer day for all of us 
sooner than we can imagine—
but who will be left here to care?

I reckon the once vibrant seas
will overflow with the carnage, 
that is sadly vacant of life,
but who will be here to care?

I reckon no longer will we pass 
our heirloom treasures on to those
generations who come after—-
but who will be here to care?

I reckon decay will someday
over take us, who are scattered 
by the reckless without regard,
but who will be here to care?

I reckon when the last tall tree
is felled by careless apathy, 
then the forests will lie barren,
but who will be here to care?

I reckon the poison of greed
will birth the realization
that life is not grown with money,
but who will be here to care?

--a draft by cjpjordan

The Humming of Giraffe

Image

Reply
Thanks to Louise Pilgaard @toft_pilgaard for making this photo available freely on Unsplash

The poetry prompt for today came indirectly from Billy Collins via a Master Class on poetry. The challenge was to write a poem six to twelve lines long and containing only one sentence. My inspiration came from an article I read on giraffe humming.

Did you know that giraffe hum to one another when they sleep?

Well, at least giraffe in captivity do. The experts can only guess about what happens in the enclosures at night, but they have these amazing rich sound recordings of a deep harmonizing hum.

Many have hypothesized about the reason for the giraffe humming. Perhaps in captivity the songs are a way of connecting. Perhaps the sounds are snoring or maybe even dream sounds.

For me, I don’t need to know the reason why giraffe hum, I just need to listen to them. It’s the kind of sound that mends the earth.

Check out this article and listen to the sounds your self.

Hum of Giraffe

When the darkness comes 
in low over the Serengeti
and the full moon rises 
above the winding Mara,

you can hear the steady
irrepressible humming
like the deep harmonic rumble 
of an ancient antiphonal choir

their sustained echos becoming
a healing drone, mending 
the earth one solemn
soulful cry at a time. 

—A draft by Carla Jeanne Picklo Jordan

May your day overflow with healing and peace.