Poetry Friday: Wildlife & Weather Always Work

We are back in New York this week visiting my parents. It is a transitional time of year with cold winter winds yielding to warm spring breezes. And, this trip exhibited these fickle weather patterns precisely. In Hamburg, New York (yes, that is really a place) the cold north wind whipped across the now slushy waters and only partially frozen Lake Erie. Thawing one day and refreezing the next, no one knows what each day will bring – especially since the forecasters seem to be wrong so often.

Tuesday, the morning of our first full day in Western New York, it was 3 degrees above zero when my husband took our dog for her morning walk. The actual temp was 19 degrees but with the wind chill, my phone told me it was 3 degrees. The wind was rushing across the nearly re-frozen lake and picking up as much iciness as it could.

But today, Thursday, it was a warm 65 degrees, only 70 miles up the Thruway (I-90) in Brockport by early afternoon. I looked out and saw a Great Blue Heron watching the pond water, now completely thawed, behind my parents’ house. This stirred the poet in me and I jotted down some lines of a haiku on my iPhone.

© Carol Labuzzetta, 2022

The other inspiring site I had today was a shelf cloud that slid into the area just before noon. Thus, I tried my hand at a modern haiku. Did you know that modern haiku while still brief and bringing imagery to the reader do not necessarily follow a 5-7-5 pattern. It’s true. I’ve had trouble writing haiku without following the traditional syllabic rule. But, maybe today’s will be a start. 

shelf clouds slide into sight
dividing sky between heavens and I
springtime rains fall fast

© Carol Labuzzetta, 2022
© Carol Labuzzetta, 2018.

Today is Poetry Friday, April Fool’s Day, and the start of National Poetry Month. I typically have trouble posting early enough on Poetry Friday, thus being one of the last of the day, even though I post by 10 o’clock in the morning. I’d like to do better and post earlier to garner more readers and comments from Poetry Friday poets, but I know it won’t be possible every week. I’m also trying to do this in deference to my fellow Poetry Friday peeps Downunder and other places where it is already April 1st.

My nature chapbook poems were in the capable hands of an editor this week, and that is so exciting for me! Finding an editor to review my work is a major step! I am so very grateful!

In any case, I did it this week! I posted! It’s 8 o’clock at night on March 31st and I have my Poetry Friday post done! Yay, for me! Our host this week is Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe. Please visit her blog as it is chock full of great referrals to more poetry and exciting announcements! Thanks for hosting Heidi.

25 thoughts

  2. I like the rhyming of the last two lines in your heron – it gives it a little kick. Or maybe I should say dip?? What a cool picture of that cloud. Wow! Congratulations on your nature chapbook – that is exciting!

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  4. Yah for you, Carol! Thanks for sharing your time ‘outside’. I’ve been told it’s good luck whenever you see a heron & you had a good look! I love clouds, sometimes think I post too many pics of them. Thanks for sharing yours, lovely!

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  5. So much NY state loveliness here, Carol–and congratulations on getting your post up early! I’m usually a Friday morning poster, too, and it’s easy to feel behind the curve. I’ve found great freedom in knowing that the brevity of a haiku doesn’t have to be controlled by syllable count. Have fun with that!

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    1. Thanks! I’m glad to know I’m not alone in the “feeling behind” with the postings on Fridays, Heidi! You are great company! lol. I am still having some difficulty embracing the freedom that a contemporary haiku affords. Hopefully, I’ll get there.

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  6. One of my favorite birds, Carol. I keep looking, but ours have not returned to their usual haunts just yet. Patience! Love your haiku, and I will have to look into “modern haiku.” Didn’t know that was a thing! Amazing shelf cloud photo, too!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, the modern haiku strays away from being controlled by the syllable counts. Honestly, I’m not sure I like it but I’ll keep trying to embrace it – it does allow a fair amount of freedom. I hope your Herons return soon.

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  7. Congrats on getting your work to an editor! Wheeeee! Let the publication magic happen. I know Hamburg, NY AND Brockport. I do not miss that kind of cold here in VA. What a spectacular take on the Blue Heron. It’s good to see it starting off Poetry Month.

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    1. Thanks, Linda! The editor step was huge for me! I have my work back already and love the suggestions. Now working diligently to incorporate them. Did you live in Western NY? I grew up in Hilton, on the west side of Rochester. It was all farmland at the time, but now has many, many houses! My husband and I are getting tired of winter cold as well. As far a NaPoWriMo, I will try to write my thirty poems in thirty days but not one a day. I’ll probably group them. Good to hear from you!

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    1. Thanks, Patricia! I noticed my first shelf cloud when I saw the one I pictured in my post – several years ago now. And, since, I always get excited when I see one! Silly, huh?! Anyway, I appreciate your kind words!

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  9. You packed a lot into these two tiny poems, Carol. They paint a complimentary picture to your photos. And yippee to editorial eyes on your work. 🙂

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