Friday, December 10, 2010

Poetry Friday: Juncoes and Jujubes


Tricia over at The Miss Rumphius Effect issued a challenge via her Monday Poetry Stretch to write about something that inspires us. Since inspiration is such a large thing, I decided to go small with my sources for it. Here's a poem about a small thing that inspired me:

JUNCO 

Just a little junco in the apple tree
this morning was enough to make me fiddle
with my plans, make me wait & see
(just a little)

what the day would bring. I put the kettle
on, rethought my errands, made a cup of tea,
settled in by the window. The junco's whistle

(just the hint of one, no bigger than the middle
letter of September) – his busy ee-ee-ee—
was Greek to me. But I love an autumn riddle
(especially if it's little.)

The Poetry Friday round-up this week is over at Jama Ratigan's delicious blog, Alphabet Soup. Click over there to see what other people are posting! (mmmm.....alphabet soup......that's a small little inspirational thing, too.....) 
Here are more photos of small things that inspire me: 

Alphabet soup....either "Toot Toot" or "Otto Otto" 
Netsuke Nest
Dragonfly
Jujubes for You and Me's

The Latest and Youngest Fan of Imaginary Menagerie - Sweet Zia!

15 comments:

  1. Lovely post! You're right - inspiration is found in small things.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful poem, Julie. Will look for "just a little" in my life today. Love all the photos, too, especially the "toot" soup! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. it finally got so cold (single digits) that the morning birds around here (the jays in particular) have stopped waking us up at 4 AM. but i only realized it after reading your poem. it makes me a little sad to think i hadn't noticed, but only a little because the jays are obnoxious.

    thanks for reminding to pay closer attention to the littler things.

    and what's with everyone and jujubes today?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice, Julie. I especially like the middle stanza, the rethinking, the cup of tea. Good job with that challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I know, David - I saw the other jujubes and thought, "Whoa!"

    JUJUBES rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful poem and photos! I love Juncos myself, and would be right there with you & the tea.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the use of the parentheticals--little things, parentheticals, but so much happens in the pauses they make. Lucky you, to have a littlest fan like Zia. Some of the newness of the world sneaks through when I spend time with people like her.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ah, jujubes..thoughts of the Saturday matinee in a time when it cost a quarter to go to the movies. Thanks for the memory.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just another week and a half of school and then I'll be able to sit by the window with a cup of tea and wonder about the juncoes. (and the wrens, the woodpeckers, the cardinals...)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Julia,

    And who, pray tell, is Sweet Zia? She's a cutie!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a great poem that prompt spawned for you! I love all the internal rhymes...middle, little, fiddle...etc. Juncos are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like the title of this post. Birds are my favorite animals, and I even have the two boys on my website story playing a card game called "Our Favorite Birds." I like birds because they seem so fragile, but they're tough.

    That baby is at maximum cuteness, too.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, fiddle...kettle...whistle...riddle...middle...little these just flew me happily around, also waiting to see. Thank you for this delight in small wonders and words.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful! You do what my favorite poetry does best--focus on something small and concrete, and have fun while you're doing it. I really love this one, Julie!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you all - it's nice to know when a poem reaches people. And what fun it is to write them! Aren't we lucky?

    ReplyDelete