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| "Wild Platypus 4" by Klaus - Flickr: Wild Platypus 4. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons |
WHY CAN'T YOU ACCEPT ME FOR WHAT I AM?!?!?
I'm an
egg-laying
duck-billed
beaver-tailed
otter-footed
evolution-confounding
naturalist-baffling
real-life
no-joke
Australian-born
coin-featured
MAMMAL!
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015
The first four hyphenated pairs in my poem today are borrowed straight from the Wikipedia article on the Platypus. Just goes to show that you can find your inspiration just about anywhere!
Carol, at Carol's Corner, will join me again this year as often as possible.
Kimberley, at iWrite in Maine, is joining me this month.
Kay, at A Journey Through the Pages, is joining, too!
Kay WAS spittin' mad!
Steve, at inside the dog, is sharing his poems
in the comments at Poetrepository.
Linda, at TeacherDance, will join as often as she can.
Check the comments here and at Poetrepository for her poems.
Yay! Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) is back this year,
leaving poetry trax in the comments.
Jone, at DeoWriter, is doing a "double L" challenge.
She and I are cross-poLLinating our challenges whenever possible.
The roundup of 2015 Poetry Month projects throughout the Kidlitosphere can be found at
To not be taken seriously is really anger-producing! What a cool place to find inspiration, and who'd a thunk a subject like that?
ReplyDeleteThe inspiration for my poem came as that first line, which sounded vaguely Dr. Suess-y, and then I went with it.
PS. I'm a little worried about tomorrow's word.
Anger Plants Horseradish
Sometimes
anger plants horseradish
among the beans;
it buzzes and clatters
against the screens.
anger hauls wagons
groaning with rancor;
or embarks on a voyage
without an anchor.
anger carves names
deep in the bark;
and slams the door hard
to mull in the dark.
But sometimes
anger rolls away boulders that
keep us entombed;
throws us a rope
when it seems we are doomed.
and
anger breaks chains that
bind and enslave;
brings strength and resolve
for the life we will save.
I started with "anger carves names" and substituted LOVE...kind of scary that you can substitute love for anger throughout the poem and it remains mostly true. Hmm...Yin and Yan...
DeleteYeah. Kind of weird...hmmm...
DeleteI was thinking about the scar that those names leave on trees, how the tree never really heals so it's back to where it used to be. It has always seemed sort of violent to me; the tree never got a say. Maybe, though, all strong emotions leave a mark in some way.
I remember reading a biography of Ernesto Cortes, a Saul Alinsky organizer in San Antonio, who told about the role "cool anger" played in his desire to challenge injustice, which made me think of anger in a different way than I had before.
Steve- Wow! Some big truth here. I love all of the different images- anger planting horseradish among beans, carved in bark, slamming doors, etc. And interesting, as Mary Lee suggests, that you can substitute love for anger. A perfect and powerful poem for Easter weekend.
DeleteLove and anger equal in power. Cool anger interesting. Anger is a deceptive emotion. What does it really say, show. Hmmm.
DeleteI love that you start with anger and end up with a platypus!
ReplyDeleteOh dear Platypus. I take you seriously. You have many special features. ML - these hyphenated words are great. "Coin-featured" is so cool and certainly validating for Mr. P.!
ReplyDeleteHa, I love Platypus having his/her say! Also, the hyphenated words are quite punchy, aren't they? Great for an anger poem.
ReplyDeleteI love hyphenated words, and using sources like Wikipedia for finding poems!
ReplyDeleteNever cross an angry platypus...with a duck, a beaver or an otter. That would be too much for the naturalists for sure! Way to crosspollinate, Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteI love all the temperatures in Steve's poem, and especially the horseradish.