#NaPoWriMo 2021 Day Twenty Two

Tortoise’s Summer Residence

Backyard Oasis

Backyard trees grow tall to offer shade throughout the spring and summer
Children play digging their way to China before vacation ends
Palo Verde – green stick bursting with yellow flowers in April

Palo Verde in backyard

NaPoWriMo Prompt – In a prompt originally posted this past February, Poets & Writers directs us to an essay by Urvi Kumbhaton the use of mangoes in diasporic literature. As she discusses in her essay, mangoes have become a sort of shorthand or symbol that writers use to invoke an entire culture, country, or way of life. This has the beauty of simplicity – but also the problems of simplicity, in that you really can’t sum up a culture in a single image or item, and you risk cliché if you try.

But at the same time, the “staying power” of the mango underscores the strength of metonymy in poetry. Following Poets & Writers’ prompt, today I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that invokes a specific object as a symbol of a particular time, era, or place.

Good morning and welcome to day twenty two of #NaPoWriMo. I’m not exactly sure if I’m on prompt but when I read it last night the palo verde came to mind. Gretchen wrote a lovely poem about sitting in the backyard for her poetry class and the professor commented that her shade was generic and could be anywhere. I told her we have a lovely palo verde tree in the backyard, if you mention the tree by name he can’t fault you for being generic. So I think having a palo verde tree in my poem invokes a specific place. Also Gretchen and I were sitting in the backyard yesterday and it was very windy. I told her, you could have yellow flowers raining down on you in your poem. She wasn’t particularly impressed with that; Yellow flowers are shitting on us. Well okay (yes it was very windy) but I told her that’s not very poetic.

The middle part of my poem is a memory of when Robin and a friend dug a big hole in our backyard one summer. Pretty much in the same locale as Speedy’s summer residence. I’m not sure if their goal was to reach China, but I remember as a kid thinking it was a possibility if one dug straight down through the center of the Earth. Robin’s friend just thought it was cool they were allowed to dig in the dirt. The other reason for this poem besides trying the sijo form again is I told Gretchen yesterday I write poems about the backyard every April but haven’t written one yet this year. Oversight corrected Lol! If you read the link to my previous backyard oasis poem, I talk about how they are getting snow in April back east. Yesterday I saw all the lovely snow pictures from Buffalo. If you ask me that would be the proper usage for shitting on us.

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First Day of Spring Break

Finally! Spring break
alarm turned off the whole week
will be back too soon

I wrote this poem yesterday for the #haikuchallenge word (back), and my children have flipped their spring breaks. Rachael went back to ASU this morning and Gretchen is still asleep at 11am this Monday. It was nice not being woken up by my alarm clock this morning, especially after our busy weekend.

Friday we had three companies come in to give us estimates on a new AC unit. Rachael had a dentist appointment and then we picked Gretchen up early from school because she didn’t want to attend the assembly. We had Subway for dinner so no cooking for me. Then Saturday Gretchen had her Eng 102 class and Shawn and I went over to get our taxes done. Afterwards as we were pulling into the driveway, we noticed the girls getting out of the car. Apparently Gretchen’s class ended early and Rachael went over to pick her up. Sunday both Rachael and Gretchen got up early to go into 4 paws. Then when they got home, we went over to get haircuts.

Today despite sleeping in, I’ve put a nice dent in the housework; dishes, vacuuming and laundry started. Tonight Shawn and I have to go over the AC estimates and figure out who we want to go with. I’d like to get it done before I start my remote reading again (plus would be good to have a new AC before the desert really turns up the heat).

Since I blogged on Thursday last week, I haven’t sent off any new submissions was a little busy with the non writing part of life. A few weeks ago Bekah and Shannon Steimel interviewed me as part of the poet blog revival. They posted the interview yesterday. Please go over and check it out and the other great interviews they have done with poets as part of the revival. They will continue the interviews throughout the year so keep an eye on their blog.

This morning Patricia over at Poetry Pea shared a haiku I submitted to her. Yes, we do get snow in the desert. Actually just looked this up, because I knew the outskirts of the valley has gotten snow. I didn’t realize there have been measurable amounts at Sky Harbor. It was just back in February of 2013 Salt River Fields where the DBacks hold spring training had a snow day. This year it’s been pretty dry and relatively warm so no snow. Remember when I posted I wanted my heat back a few weeks ago? I thought it was good to go. I was in the backyard yesterday soaking up the warmth and today through Wednesday highs will be in the 80s. But then we’re suppose to slide back down to highs only in the 60s again. Brrr…

Well my dryer just buzzed and Rachael sent me something she wants edited, so I have to get back to work. Wonder if Gretchen will get up before noon.

Sunny Desert Winter

Last Monday I was chilly; it only reached 60 here in the desert. But over the weekend, it warmed up nicely. Yesterday it was 80 and I went in the backyard to soak in the warmth.

Selfie of me in the backyard

While I was out there enjoying my desert heat, I read Ken’s blog – Missouri weather.  He wrote a cherita. It was the first time I saw this poetry form and since it it short, I had to give it a try. I borrowed from Ken’s piece as we are both Buffalo transplants.

Arizona weather

nothing like
Buffalo

sun will shine
no need to shovel
soak in the warmth

This website as more info on the cherita poetry form.

Then when I checked my following reader page on WordPress this morning, I saw more desert pictures from a post by Jasmine, Driving through the Arizona desert. I agree; I love my desert. Can you believe by the end of this week it’s going to be February? Friday, February 2nd is my mother’s birthday and groundhog’s day, marking the halfway point of winter. My mother disliked the bitter cold and snow of Buffalo winters. Shawn and I moved out to Arizona 19 years ago now, and I have to admit I do not miss the snow and cold. Also the humidity all those things affect my CP and the Arizona sun and warmth keep me a much happier person.

Enjoying the sun
my little slice of heaven
sits in my backyard

The #haikuchallenge word on twitter today is slice.

NaPoWriMo Day Eighteen – Ruba’i

Every morning I wake to greet
The sunshine and love my retreat
Back east they’re still dealing with snow
My desert spring lush in dry heat

 

Picture taken by Shawn Hosking on Camelback Mountain

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Today I challenge you to write a ruba’i. What’s that? Well, it’s a Persian form — multipe stanzas in the ruba’i form are a rubaiyat, as in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Basically, a ruba’i is a four-line stanza, with a rhyme scheme of AABA. Robert Frost’s famous poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening uses this rhyme scheme. You can write a poem composed of one ruba’i, or try your hand at more, for a rubaiyat. Happy writing!

Yesterday, I was busy writing tweetkus.  Tweets written as haiku. I heard Western New York had gotten more snow. I thought I better threaten the sun to get with the program.  I don’t want to deal with snow when I visit Buffalo in July. 😉

I’m no fan of snow
Summer better warm July
Sun has been forewarned

 

Then today I check the writer’s digest PAD prompt more weather poetry.  I decided to write a ruba’i on my beautiful Sonoran Spring. And now I have miles to go before I sleep… I need to get ready for the weekend.