On Saturday, I toured the Audubon Aquarium at the fast pace of a 5-year old. This penguin was right up against the glass as if it was posing.
I invite you to write a penguin poem. Join us in the comments and support other writers with your comments.
Today I decided to write a Zeno poem. It’s a mathematical form created by J. Patrick Lewis using the sequence 8, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1. Each one syllable line rhymes. When I decide to use this form, I start with the rhyming word. For this poem I wanted it to land on the word fly. I made a list of words that rhyme with fly (cry, spy, by, guy, high,…) Then I wrote the numbers down the left side of the page.
Next, compose a first sentence. You’d be surprised how many sentences are between 8-10 syllables.
Zenos are fun to write. Mine came out quite silly, but I feel like that’s the point.
Mr. Penguin invites you in—
the water is
fresh as
pie.
That fishy scent
by and
by.
Secret power
makes him
fly.
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret, I love imagining you running through the aquarium at a five-year-old pace. You zeno is so fun. Thanks for sharing your process. I love the singsong of your poem, and silly does seem the point. I’ll try one, but today, I got lost in reading about penguins.
Penguins! So many kinds! King and Royal,
Emperor, Erect-crested, Adélie and African,
Northern and Southern Rockhoppers, Chinstrap, and Little,
Galápagos and Gentoo, Magellanic and Macaroni.
Until today, I hadn’t realized penguins
Inhabit our world at the impressive
Nineteen diverse species. More:
Snares, Yellow-eyed, White-flippered, Humboldt, and Fiordland
Denise, thanks for writing today. I had no idea there were so many types of penguins. When I looked up this one, it’s an African and is able to adapt to a temperate environment. I considered an acrostic too. With all those penguins, you could do an abcedarian. Forms help when trying to contain a topic.