I woke up today thinking it was Saturday. All week, I wanted to try writing an Ovillejo, a form of poetry that some of the Poetry Friday participants challenged us to try writing last week. But the week got away from me.
It was also snowing, so I sat down and decided to try the Ovillejo form. The following is what I came up with:
Ovillejo for Spring
Why are the snow piles slow to melt?
Cold is still felt.
Why can no daffodils be seen?
Snow makes a sheen.
Can we limit the winter days?
Always a phase.
Waiting for the sun to amaze
Winter retreats to memory
Leaving us room for reverie
Cold snowy phase leads to sun’s rays.
Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2026.
I’m not sure I did it correctly, but I counted my syllables and checked my rhyme scheme many times. I might try another later today, but for a first effort, I am okay with how it turned out.
Thanks to the group for the prompt.
What I’m reading…
I’d like to make this a regular feature of my website as people always seem to be interested in it. I alluded to buying three poetry books in my post last week, and I’ve finished one.
Haibun: A Writer’s Guide (2023) by Roberta Beary, Lew Watts, and Rich Youmans was the first book of the three I purchased. It was somewhat of a dry read, and the authors have definite ideas on what a haibun is and what it isn’t.
I came away, unfortunately, feeling like I was no longer interested in writing them. Much of the prose left me cold. A haibun consists of descriptive prose and a haiku, as I understand it. But what I didn’t understand was the many nuances that exist in the form. And those nuances seem very subjective. I know all poetry is subjective, but the subjectivity in these seems extreme – almost to the point of having to be explained.
This reminded me of having to explain my poetry to a creative writing professor in undergrad – after which he changed my grade from a C to an A. If done well, I don’t think it needs explaining. This is just my opinion, of course.
The book did inspire me to try some more modern haiku, getting away from the 5-7-5. And those, I am pleased with.
Barbie's closet
Custom clothes
Grandma's doing
© Carol Labuzzetta, 2026.
Banana bike
Hours spend
My childhood
© Carol Labuzzetta, 2026.
I finished I am Anastasia (2019) by Ariel Lawhon and am onto Project Hail Mary (2022) by Andy Weir. I usually read historical fiction, and my husband reads science fiction, and we trade. As always, I like to read a book before seeing a movie, thus the decision to read what I am now.
I can highly recommend Ariel Lawhon’s books. They are well-written and engrossing. I especially enjoyed The Frozen River.
My week on Medium.com has been good. Publishing several articles that have gotten attention, one on travel and one on the price of coffee.
I’ve shared a “friend link”, but if you cannot read the full article, sometimes the link reverts to a paid subscription. If you are burning to read what I wrote, message me, and I’ll send the friend link to you personally. Thanks for your interest.
Lastly, I read that Little Thoughts Press was open for submissions again. I’ll not be submitting, but maybe some of you’d like to. Good Luck!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins is our host this week, and she’s celebrating an upcoming book birthday! Be sure to check her post and congratulate her! Thanks for hosting, Marcie!
Oh, Carol your redondilla – the little bundling lines in your ovillejo – are absolutely brilliant. I think I stuck too closely to whatever rules I set up in my brain at first, but I absolutely do believe that the final quatrain is meant to be played with in whatever way the poet sees fit. You nailed it! Thanks for playing along!
Thank you!
Oh, this was great! Days and Phase is an especially good rhyme…
Thanks for trying along with us!!
Sure, Liz. I was happy to try it. Thanks.
Your daffodils are still hidden, while mine got pounded by hail. Sigh. I’ll try to remember your wise words…”Always a phase.”
Thanks, Mary Lee. We got more snow, so it’ll be awhile before we see those yellow heads.
Oh, fun, Carol! I really like these lines:
Can we limit the winter days?Always a phase.
Waiting for the sun to amaze
And your Barbie haiku reminded me of my mom. Oh, she sewed us so many fabulous Barbie clothes when I was a kid!
Thanks, Karen. I appreciate the feedback.
Lovely snow scene for ovillejo insp, Carol!
Thank you Patricia.
Carol, your photo is a great image for your poem. From winter to spring your ovillejo moves beautifully. I am looking forward to the sun’s rays. Today is the Easter hunt at church and it is on the cool dark side but we will have fun with the grandgirls.
I replied to you last week, but my comment must have disappeared. I said how it was funny that we move used winter moving to spring as our inspiration and yours had the additional layer about grief. Thanks, Carol
Carol, thank you for your lovely take on the ovillejo form. I, too, am looking forward to a phase with more of sun’s rays! I just finished The Frozen River with my book club. It is a great one!
Thanks, Tracey.
Carol, wow, the snow is still coming! It sounds cold. I like your ovillejo. I think it was fun giving it a try. I enjoyed reading about what you’re reading. The haibun book sounded like a disappointment. It sounds like the haibun has been spoiled for you. Will it be hard to go back and just write prose and a haiku together? I have done what I called a haibun a couple of times, with absolutely no fear or knowledge of people who have opinions of how it should be done! I enjoyed reading your modern haiku too.
Hi Denise. Sorry for the very delayed response. I’m making good use of our rainy day. The Haibun book was very much a disappointment. I think it will make it harder for me to write another Haibun. The author’s made it seem like only a special few could write Haibun and the prose in the examples they gave was disappointing. I read another book on writing haiku that covered haibun and that restored my interest and hopefully capacity I have to write more. I’ll be reviewing that book soon. The best writing, I feel, is when one is passionate about the subject and writes freely without fear of judgement or the opinions of others. Thanks, again, for always giving me your support. I appreciate it – even if I’m late to reply. lol.
I love your poem. “Winter retreats to memory” sounds like a sigh and a breath of spring. Happy Spring!
Thank you Margaret. I appreciate the feedback. Happy Spring to you too. We aren’t quite there yet. Soon, I hope. 40’s today. I bet you’ve had some warm/hot days already. Cheers!
Carol, you did well with that complicated (to me!) form. My favorite two lines were “Can we limit the winter days?/Always a phase.” I may have to give this a go, too. As of this weekend, we have daffodils here, so yay.
Thanks, Susan. We are still waiting on Daffodils. Maybe soon…. I hope. Did you try the form?
Not yet! I’m still pondering.