Parker Owens

Thank you for checking out this chapter of the 2024 collection. Cream Cans is indeed a life lesson. Thanks very much for your comments.

And the moon has been toying with the clouds each morning this week. You have written the dawn for me.

You did. Thank you very much for reading and for sharing your thoughts on these and all of the poems this month.

The Sea Song sang itself to me the other day. I love it when poetry does that in my head, when I have to hurry just to get it onto paper. I’m so glad you liked it! I'm really happy we took the challenge this year; I almost didn’t. But at the end, adding the last extra day was irresistible. Thanks so much for your thoughts and for reading, and especially for your poems this month!

You’re very welcome. The end of this month has seen so many beautiful renewals. It is indeed a season of hope.

28. To the Green All the world has gone green— the grass and forest floor, new budded rose bushes, rising peas and parsley, old stones and fallen trunks with new moss coats to wear, and spear-sprouted iris from their old, gnarled rhizomes— every tree and flower waves spring’s royal banner, adorned with their accents like purple for vinca, grey for sage and hemlock, and trout lily’s bold yellows, all shouting for the bees

I really, really liked your #28 on Silence. Silence isn't just the absence of sound, it has a feel to it that I can't describe. However, you've described it in words that make me feel silence flowing, moving through and around me. It's a gem. So too are your sonnets. I can't decide which I like better, #29 or the Bonus. The third stanza of #29 appeals to me: there's a visual image of the poet there that sprang directly to mind. The second stanza of the Bonus, as well as its final couplet, stand out, too. I confess to being scared to try a Monostich, but your wonderful example made it look easy. Thank you for making the NaPoWriMo journey this year. You have given me lots of food for thought and inspiration, on top of the great pleasure of reading your poetry.

This is a timeless poem. Even half a millennium after it was written, love and enchantment echo to our ears.

@AC Benus you’re very kind to comment on those Tanka. I’m still feeling my way through that form again, and these two felt especially right. Thank you for reading this group and for alighting upon these in particular.

This is a fantastic set. #21 had me grinning from ear to ear, and #23 made a chill run down my spine. #24 made me pause to think about how I perceive color. Taken together, #26 and 27 felt so powerful, I felt swept up in mourning and longing. These are excellent.

You did not misinterpret about the 19th. The 20th referred to another dear friend I have missed. Thank you very much for reading and for your thoughts.

Thank you very much, tim. I felt particularly wordless on the 19th, as sadness washed over me. His Smile made me feel lighter for having written it. I’m glad the wary rabbit made you smile. It’s the time of spring when I see them on my morning walk; they always make me smile too. Thank you for reading these and for your comments.

I’m glad you found this group to be engaging. Thanks very much for taking time with it. @AC Benus wrote a guide to writing a variety of poetry forms (including Tanka), and I credit him with sparking my rebirth in poetry. I’ve included the link… https://gayauthors.org/story/ac-benus/zero-to-hero-a-guide/1

You’re very welcome. Thanks for reading!

19. Sad News I can’t write today: the colors are much too dark for my word canvas, too heavy for its frail frame and too sad for translation. 20. His Smile When I could bear to think about your smile, it flooded every inch of space, I know, the brilliant morning sunshine to beguile, and even swirling time refused to flow. The stretch of days since last we met has grown, yet I remember every second spent within the c