We’ve started getting the school butterfly garden ready for spring. I was a bit overwhelmed and excited to see all the plants that survived the winter. I was particularly taken by the purple salvia which last year was a small percentage of planter box space and now is practically taking over. But it’s so beautiful.
Yesterday on Ethical ELA, the prompt from Dave Wooly was a new form to me: Kwansaba, a praise poem based on #7. Seven lines, seven words, seven or fewer letters each word. The letter count stumped me because I wanted to write about the butterfly garden. Butterfly is 9 letters long, off limits. I felt like I was putting together a complicated puzzle where the pieces wouldn’t fit together. I’m sharing my effort, however, along with my garden partner Avalyn’s garden celebration.
Purple Salvia Kwansaba
In our school garden, spring rises in
purple salvia opening with violet nectar.Beauty abounds here, left after winter’s freeze
bidding hummers, bees, moths, pollen seekers come.I want to plant a home garden–
enrich, connect place to place where life,
a sense of hope, comes richly back to us.by Margaret Simon
Avalyn’s Garden Kwansaba
Garden
Such a pretty flower, dancing flowers behold.
The wind cannot uproot even in storms.
You are such beauty I cannot explain.
You are the scent I want to smell.
You stand for happy, so much color!
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
A praise poem to all the flowers.How are the flower gardens doing in your part of the world? Please consider writing a small poem in the comments and encouraging other writers with your comments. Happy Spring!
So nice!!
Fun to see the garden with blooming flowers. I did not know this form either. Interesting to stay with in the bounds of seven. A fun puzzle for sure.
Breathing in springtime
here garden box of rainbows
mends winter’s aching
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Margaret and Avalyn, your Kwansabas are lovely. They go so well with the photos. Your poems both inspired my haiku today (the parts about winter and rainbows). I love “bidding hummers, bees, moths, pollen seekers come.” and in Avalyn’s “A praise poem to all the flowers.” Good job nailing that Kwansaba.
Denise, thanks for writing today. I think your haiku is a nice addition to our poems. Like a haibun. “mend winter’s aching.” I feel we are doing just that. Being there is a breath of fresh spring!
I also love “mends winter’s aching”
Ode to Purple Glory
In deepest hues, royalty stretches
seeking flying beauties.
Gardener readies tools,
selects magical wands
to attract monarch,
skipper, viceroy and more.
Salvia’s flavor, wafts and wins.
Janet Clare F.
What a lovely lovely garden. In a hurried moment I tried to use a lot of 7 letter words in 7 lines to approximate this style. I had fun and actually kind of like where I might be headed with this. Thanks again, Margaret and friends. I will return to read more and comment.
Love the idea of flowers as magical wands.
Janet,
I love the purple and “royalty stretches” and the “flying beauties” they seek!
Thank you for the inspiration from yours and Avalyn’s poems, Margaret. Interesting how you both used an internal list. Thanks also for the new form I felt the need to try. Longwood Gardens is awash in tulips for a few weeks now. I was lucky to view them last week:
While walking through a garden of tulips,
I marvel at the bright, bold colors
as each flower reaches for the sun.
Each one claims its space of glory
bringing joy to those who stroll by.
Photos on phones and images in hearts
will recall the beauty of this moment.
Love this visit to the gardens.
Rose, wow, you made that Kwansaba look easy. This is so lovely, and I think of all the visitors and the photos and memories they took away with this favorite line: “Photos on phones and images in hearts”