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    Parker Owens
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Disasters, Delights and Other Detours - 39. A Winter's Hike: The Tanka Challenge

These are observations made during a winter's hike through a large local park. There are lots of walking trails and some great views, along with surprises to be found. These were written in response to @AC Benus and his Tanka poetry prompt. If you haven't read the chapter, I encourage you to do so.
A Winter's Hike

I dress in dark clothes,
thick and grey like storm warnings;
barometric signs
in flannel and fine knit wool
foretelling doomsday blizzards.
 
I pass dogs at play,
Terriers dressed in plaid coats,
Labs with clouded breath;
and my cold legs yearn like theirs
to thrill in mud-spattered joy.
 
Clear ice on green grass
strong enough to hold my weight
makes my steps falter
in wonder and gratitude
for an open path ahead.
 
Snowy ridges roll
for miles of heartache southward
yet my heart soars up
to meet the high, wispy clouds,
for you are in the distance.
 
Across windswept fields
the frozen trail meanders,
yielding a surprise
so stunning I stopped and stared:
bluebirds in January!
 
Comments of any sort or variety are more than welcome. Thank you for reading!
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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I could picture everything clearly.  I love the 'mud-spattered joy".  A perfect description of dogs at play.  I also liked the interspersion of color throughout.  The ice-covered green and the bluebird standing out among the white.  A perfect thing to read while sipping cocoa inside, watching the winter storm from my window.  :) 

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2 hours ago, AC Benus said:

I agree the sighting of a bluebird set against a background of snow is poem-worthy indeed! Your whole walk is also gloriously recorded, with a fine marriage of image and emotions. Very well done, and I'd encourage you to think Tanka more and more. It's a form that suits your observations skills, I think :)

 

 

 

Your words are very kind. The bluebirds - there were five - puffed up in buff and iridescent blue against the cold. I was astonished to see them, but there was no mistake. Their appearance capped an extraordinary afternoon. I enjoy Tanka, though I had to get used to their inherent rhythm as I wrote scribble after scribble. 

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2 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

 

Thank you, Gary! I hope it felt as if you had come along with me. 

I didn't see bluebirds on today's hike, but me and my new dog experienced much of what you did. We walked through my woods and gazed out over the snow draped fields, and I'm sure she yearns for a little mud spatter too... yet the crunch of brittle snow underfoot brought out joy in her with every step. I could feel it course through me as well, and despite frozen cheeks, it was an unforgettable first walk with her. :)  My :heart:  was full. 

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5 hours ago, mayday said:

Beautiful! I looked up bluebirds, an alien species here, but oh, what stunning shades of the deepest blue!

I now understand why you stopped stunned staring -

the last two lines perfect in the way they sound and - with the alliteration making sure we stop too - with the next and last line again light and airy like the birds.

 

 

Thank you for reading these, and for taking the time to look up bluebirds. Usually, we think of them as summer residents, but there they were flitting about the scrub and low trees. Tanka are fun to write; such concentration of emotion and image. 

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2 hours ago, Defiance19 said:

Well, the temperature dropped right in time for me to read these. I particularly liked the terriers at play, and the surprise bluebirds. A wonderful set, Parker. 

 

With the plummeting temperatures, I hope these birds will have found some warm place to weather the storms. They were an incredible surprise, capping off a lovely hike. And I’m glad you liked the terriers at play, too. They’re such fun to watch. Thank you for reading these! 

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