Backwoods Reflections - 4. Skewed Spring

3 hours ago, chris191070 said:

A great reflection of April and the things we celebrate.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Chris.  April is definitely a month of variety.

April 6 and April 11 reminded me so much of my parents.  They lived though the depression, and Mom liked to save EVERYTHING.  Some of the other rural residents in the area also saved almost everything.  Also, good neighbors were a help to them several times in their lives, and the other way around, also.

Fortunately, after Dad died, and Mom remarried 6 and a half years later, when she was 87, her new, younger husband ( he was only 85) helped her clean a lot of junk out of the house and dispose of it.

Great reflections and good poetry, BB.

3 hours ago, raven1 said:

An interesting collection of poems to celebrate Spring.  Coming from the same neck of the woods as yourself, these are poems I can relate to easily.  Although most contain humor, both April 3 and April 7 had me laughing BB.  As another mountain boy, I recognized the beauty and wonder I felt when reading April 10.  All are very enjoyable to read.  Thanks!

Thanks, Terry.  The weather has perhaps resembled more of what we knew in the past, with rain in the valley and a snow level halfway down the hills most of  the time.  Last year I started mowing in February.  This year I'll do it for the second time today.  The fog drifting through the trees across the valley has always been fascinating.  Thanks for sharing my April fun  

1 hour ago, Parker Owens said:

I love these. In their easy, economical lines, I am brought into another springtime and another lovely world.  

Thanks for reading and for your observations, Parker.  I'll remember "economical" - I'm afraid "sparse" comes to my mind usually.  Most were derived looking out my window, though the calendar sometimes helped  

1 hour ago, George Richard said:

So evocative of things I see on my walks!

Thanks for reading and commenting, George.  Your walks must be much like mine, but this year I watched a lot of it through my window instead.  I'm getting too old, and the weather too cold.  That almost sounded like another poem emerging   

8 minutes ago, ReaderPaul said:

April 6 and April 11 reminded me so much of my parents.  They lived though the depression, and Mom liked to save EVERYTHING.  Some of the other rural residents in the area also saved almost everything.  Also, good neighbors were a help to them several times in their lives, and the other way around, also.

Fortunately, after Dad died, and Mom remarried 6 and a half years later, when she was 87, her new, younger husband ( he was only 85) helped her clean a lot of junk out of the house and dispose of it.

Great reflections and good poetry, BB.

Thanks for sharing your own recollections, Paul.  It seems like poetry inspires those from myself and then from others.  

April 6 - I was over at my neighbors' at 7:15, knowing they would be getting ready for work and that I could borrow a phone to talk on while the support people told me strange things to do with mine - or did them remotely.  I knew they wouldn't mind being bothered.  They are very helpful friends (20 years younger).  

April 11 - That was a direct quote from my Aunt, heard many times and laughed over afterwards.  As the pandemic began to wane, I compared the two events - and understood her much better.

Thanks for reading my babbling, and for your ongoing encouragement   

11 minutes ago, WolfM said:

These are wonderful and you had me smiling through the lot of them.   I had to look up Forsythia since I wasn't familiar with it. Beautiful golden bush. 

Thanks for reading, Wolf.  I'm glad they had you smiling, as humor (tinged with cynicism in some cases) was the objective  

I have a big Forsythia in the corner of my yard.  I always look forward to the bright, yellow blossoms early in the spring.  It was about two weeks late this year if memory serves me correctly.

Well, look at you! You promised skewed a la skewered poems but sneak in two bona fide enchanters. I'll get back to those.

First for the clearly humorous offerings; they'll all great. As I started reading, April 1st struck me as being in a great form. And altogether, many of the poems here whisk me away to the enchanted world of Dorothy Parker. She nearly had a paten on wry humor (and perhaps on bathtub rye too) in the 1920s. I feel you'll find much inspiration in her work. Start with the "forbidden" poems no publisher would touch in her lifetime; they're gold.

https://archive.org/details/notmuchfunlostpo0000park

But amongst the satire, you slip in April 10. As good, and serious, and perfect a Haiku one could want. You've been faithful to spirit and letter of the true Japanese form (avoided the usual English haiku-speak BS), and made me smile. An unexpected gem like a ray of sunlight. Excellent. 

And then, bringing up the final position, a true-blue Tanka. Another serious poem displaying everything a real Tanka should be. Love it 

15 minutes ago, AC Benus said:

Well, look at you! You promised skewed a la skewered poems but sneak in two bona fide enchanters. I'll get back to those.

First for the clearly humorous offerings; they'll all great. As I started reading, April 1st struck me as being in a great form. And altogether, many of the poems here whisk me away to the enchanted world of Dorothy Parker. She nearly had a paten on wry humor (and perhaps on bathtub rye too) in the 1920s. I feel you'll find much inspiration in her work. Start with the "forbidden" poems no publisher would touch in her lifetime; they're gold.

https://archive.org/details/notmuchfunlostpo0000park

But amongst the satire, you slip in April 10. As good, and serious, and perfect a Haiku one could want. You've been faithful to spirit and letter of the true Japanese form (avoided the usual English haiku-speak BS), and made me smile. An unexpected gem like a ray of sunlight. Excellent. 

And then, bringing up the final position, a true-blue Tanka. Another serious poem displaying everything a real Tanka should be. Love it 

Thank you, AC, for your ongoing instruction and encouragement.

Now that you mention her, I remember Dorothy Parker vaguely and favorably, probably from Miss Slonim's oft-mentioned English 101.  Thank you for the link. 

I had fun with all of these, mostly trying different forms, some standard some derived from remembered songs, the first triggered by the chorus of a patriotic number.  Tanka and Haiku are particularly interesting in terms of their economical lines, to use Parker's term.  I think I'll try more of those - but I need to get out in the woods for inspiration

1 hour ago, Dan South said:

April 6? Yes yes yes!

April 9: not the Cadbury bunny ….

Delightful, thoughtful, thought filled read.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Dan.  Nope, not exactly the Cadbury bunny   

Wonderful!

I liked all of these! April 3, I have felt, myself. April 9 was a whimsical chocolate Easter egg tale. April 11 and 12 are, perhaps, trenchant comments on human nature.

A very nice surprise! thanks for sharing these!

34 minutes ago, Geron Kees said:

Wonderful!

I liked all of these! April 3, I have felt, myself. April 9 was a whimsical chocolate Easter egg tale. April 11 and 12 are, perhaps, trenchant comments on human nature.

A very nice surprise! thanks for sharing these!

 

 

 

Thanks much, Geron.  Today is an "April 3" day, but yesterday was nice enough for a long rail-trail bike ride up a nearby canyon - and food for more lyrical thoughts.  I'm not going to make the one-a-day goal for the month, but perhaps I'll have another short set of whimsy at the end of the month  

2 minutes ago, Backwoods Boy said:

Thanks much, Geron.  Today is an "April 3" day, but yesterday was nice enough for a long rail-trail bike ride up a nearby canyon - and food for more lyrical thoughts.  I'm not going to make the one-a-day goal for the month, but perhaps I'll have another short set of whimsy at the end of the month  

Same here. Yesterday was a beauty of a day, sunny and warm - warmer then normal for this time of the year here. The result was a nice, day-long hike in which a lake, mountains, and plenty of forest were involved. And, today, I am feeling the pleasant aftermath of a day well-spent!