Forest Foray

September 10 Prompt ▼

Prompt for: Sept 10, 2015 (fyn)
Subject or Theme: : See! Look outside, or go for a walk. Observe what is around you. Not a scene but individual things. A cloud, but not the sky. A bird but not the flock of them.

Twelve stanzas.
First stanza should be where you are—let the reader know where you are walking or looking (down the street, out the window, across a field) Here you can use generalization about where you are. (For example meandering across a wide open field.
The next Ten stanzas. Look small. Notice the little things. For example what is crawling between the blades of grass or on the bark of the tree. Each stanza is a distinct, different observed ‘thing’ (for example: the ladybug, not the ladybug crawling on a leaf. That is two things.--. You could describe a flower including stem and leaf because that IS one entity. Use only observable description.’
The last stanza wraps up the poem, ties your observations together. Do NOT say anything like “This is what I saw out of the window or on my walk.” Here you can comment on what you might have missed or the benefits of observing what’s around you or something you never noticed before.


Word(s) to Include: : flummox, bloated, confront (or any derivatives of these words)
Forbidden Word(s): walk, see, look, observe, notice, crawl (or any derivatives of these words)
Additional Parameters: Be descriptive. Take the reader with you (in a manner of speaking) such that we see what you see.

PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO SAMPLES PROVIDED

Remember, do not use forbidden words ANYWHERE, including title or the brief description.

Flummox – baffle, bewilder, confuse

Forest Foray

I
I follow my feet
Along a broken path
That cuts through a forest
Behind my house.

II
Squirrel rustles the branches
Drawing my eye to his frisky tail
That darts and scurries
Along a rippled, rugged bark
His black eye catches mine in wonder.

III
Butterfly flutters
Wings white with innocent pureness
Lightly floating and bobbing
On a carefree breeze

IV
Crow caws
Breaking the silence
His wings black as midnight
Flap in agitation.

V
Chipmunk darts
Tail high
Feet zip by in a blur
Eager to hide.
Not wishing to
Confront a hawk

VI
Cicades rise a chorus
High pitched
Over the breeze
Then dropping off into silence
A beat
Then begin again.

VII
Ant moves slow
His back carrying
A crumb of bread
Moving with purpose
Until flummoxed
When my shoe appears
To block his path
Over the dusty ground

VIII
Hawk waits sleathly
High in the branches
Eyes watch
Head dips to listen
Then in a moment of decision
Raises wings of great span
Jumps
Soaring off
As he skims the branches
Ever watchful
For bloated prey.

IX
A leaf twists in the breeze
This way and that
Lush in its green, yet tips of red
Begin to show
It seems to whisper
As it brushes against
The others
Holding tight to its banded branch

X
Robin bobs
On the path ahead
Head tipped
Listening to the earth below
Then stabbing down
The earth gives bounty
As the robin
Plucks a worm
Thick and brown
Satisfied the robin flits
Flying off to feed
Its young.

XI
Single white flower
Graces a patch of sunlight
Dappled leaves sway
Delicate petals
Stretch toward the light
Shine in glory.

XII
These captured moments of small
Take me into myself
Letting me know
I am not alone in the universe.