Bald eagles –
Two of them at play –
One settled
At the top
Of a bare limb on a tree,
To scan sky and lake
In a field
The heron stood still –
So still that
The bikers
Rode right past; I held my breath
Hoping he would stay
Hummingbirds
Zoom in and around;
The bee balm’s
Spiky red
blossoms silently beckon
In color and scents
Noisy crows
Always interrupt
As if they
Have something
Important to tell other
Crows. So. Very. Rude.
Four A.M.
My window open
The sky dark
The world still
I hear the call — Whoo- who-Whooo–
Of the Great Horned Owl
I wish that
I gathered the sights
And sounds of
All these birds
In some better storage than
Failing memory
Tanka Tuesday Prompt: write a syllabic poem and incorporate synonyms for the words Quiet and Seek. I chose to do a Shadorma which has 6 lines and follows this syllable count: 3-5-3-3-7-5
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
Beautifully written
Yay for the shadorma! Have you tried the Garland Shadorma? I think this would be really easy to do…
Originally, that was my plan. David (Skeptic’s Kaddish) makes the garland shadorma look easy — always the sign of genius when someone makes a challenging task look super-easy — but once I started this poem, I realized that I was in way over my head.
It’s a garland cinquain, not shadorma. But you should try it. This shadorma sequence is amazing, by the way. 🧡
Haha — you can tell how little I know about poetry! Thank you for your kind words.
No worries. Actually I think you could do the same thing with a shadorma and it would be excellent. You’d have to write 6 shadorma to have the 7th shadorma a composite of the other six.
Lovely 💞
Nice series on some of my favorite feathered friends.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Sally.
Such a delight. I think the Shadorma showcases you so well. You know how to pack a punch. Love it.
Those crows— indeed so rude. 😆 thank you.
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I may have to try another Shadorma sometime.
Beautifully done, Sally! Those crows are quite jarring amidst the rest of the melodies. 💞
Isn’t that the truth? I hear them arguing ALL THE TIME over stuff I’ve thrown in our compost heap. It’s like the seagulls at the beach, calling, MINE MINE MINE
This line really made me chuckle, Sally! An excellent write!
~David
Thanks, David. Pretty happy with that line myself. 🙂
Wonderful imagery. I get the feeling at the end of wanting to capture and keep everything forever, which I understand.
Sometimes, I read back over something I wrote years ago and I think, “I’m so very glad that I captured that moment.” Memories are so fragile, aren’t they?